Velvet #08

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Steve Epting

Publisher: Image Comics

 

Monologues often get monotonous in comic books, especially when the central character is portrayed heavily through them. However, this is not just 'a' comic book we're talking about. Ed Brubaker has crafted the character of Velvet Templeton so well, you can bet your bottom dollar anyone's going to fall in love with her, especially because of the monologues. The first volume (issues #1-5) delivered exactly what readers expect from a crime thriller and so far the ongoing arc has also been keeping its promise of delivering 24 pages of espionage awesomeness.

Issue #8 picks up from exactly where #7 left us. Those who have been following the series know that we are yet to find out who she's really after, because so far as the evidence seems, whoever is playing her is inside ARC-7. Velvet is now desperate to find out who's been framing her and for that she's ready to pay any price, of which we get a glimpse of in this issue. Everyone in the agency knows she's on her own yet her tactical moves leave them awe-struck. In issue 7 we saw how agents Colt and Roberts have been following her trail, both being unable to figure out anything substantial about the whole mess, and in this one we see a continuation of that.

 

What really sets this apart from other series is that, Brubaker knows how to stir up just the right amount of intensity that keeps someone completely hooked on it. In the last couple of pages of issue #8 we get the hint that Velvet is going to encounter something much bigger from her past, something that had been more of a turning point in her life. The first few issues were more or less about the murder of her friend, but now we see that everything goes far deeper than that. 

 

Velvet's badassery goes higher with each issue. From jumping from the top of a building to the time when she says "try getting shot in the ribs sometimes" after getting shot herself, gives us all the more reason to love her. The art has been consistently fabulous, Steve Epting is being literally at his best. The moods of different characters, their interactions, the ongoing tension and suspense have been vividly detailed in the art and coloring just as all the other issues. Being nitpicky though, one could say that the premise of the entire story could be just a little bit broader, since the plot has been somewhat confined within the agency (ARC-7) so far. But that is going to be dealt with, as we've seen at the end of issue #8.

Ed Brubaker has always been way ahead of the others in telling spy thrillers, Velvet is one such. Death, betrayal, double agents, action, explosions and most of all sheer intrigue is what's mingled in the series. With the current arc going to an even bigger stage and Brubaker always being able to deliver an excellent finishing to his stories, this is a must read.