It is an unfortunate state of being for independent comics that they are under higher scrutiny than most the big two. Although there are seemingly many more avenues of creativity for the medium with fewer controls on the creativity itself, most seem to regard the independents as something of a hit-or-miss. There are lots of gems, but there are also lots of duds, and for those that are willing to be open-minded and to look for the gems, there is a lot of sifting through to get to something noteworthy. This will mean unfortunately for the independents that they often get judged by their first appearance, not so much judging a book by its cover but rather by its first chapter.
This being the case for Scarlett Couture, anyone that read the first issue might have thought that the storytelling was a bit clunky and uninspired, but those that gave up so soon might find themselves missing out on what turns out to be a decent series. After escaping the explosion at the end of the last issue, Scarlett is forced into tracking down those behind the bombing. This leads her to a most unlikely place, her father’s beat in Queens and the murder scene that he is investigating. As she learns more and more about the crimes she learns that more and more of her colleagues are under fire.
The first issue didn’t work because of its somewhat simplified story line, and while that is also kind of the case here, the writer does a much better job at making the characters approachable. As series creator Des Taylor says in his letter col at the end of the first issue, part of the appeal of the characters is that they are untouchable in a sense, in that they are elite supermodels. While this is true, there is only so much to surface, and while the first issue was mostly bereft in terms of establishing Scarlett and her colleagues as characters, this issue rectifies that somewhat. With a stronger focus on the characters, the action fits in better as well resulting in a better overall experience. This still has some way to go, but at least it is heading in the right direction.
Story and Art: Des Taylor
Story: 7.7 Art: 7.7 Overall: 7.7 Recommendation: Read
The Vesha Valentine Story by Des Taylor is an interesting original graphic novel. It isn’t a traditional book in that there’s word bubbles and panels. Instead this beautiful “pin-up storybook” has more in common with children’s illustrated books with it’s style, though not it’s content.