Writer: Garth Ennis
Penciler: Jacen Burrows
Inker: Guillermo Ortego
Colourist: Dan Brown
Letterer: Rob Steen
There is something ancient and terrible loose in the world of men. Something that hates them with burning passion, that bears a grudge born of ten thousand years. Something that wants its revenge. NYPD Detective Amy Sun has a problem: Three years ago, a young woman was rescued from a serial killer by a police tactical unit. Now she’s dead, and Amy has a bad feeling that the SWAT team leader is responsible. As she investigates the existence of a corrupt cabal within her own precinct, Detective Sun soon discovers that there is something else on their trail – a force of vengeance older than the human race itself has awoken, invoked by the tormented murder victim in the weeks before she died, and is out for the blood of the guilty, who soon find themselves suffering a fate more gruesome than anything they could have dreamed of. The Ribbon Queen has come to New York City…and when she learns the truth, Amy is not at all certain that it should be stopped.
Thoughts…What a start to a series, this hits everything spot on. This is an intense read from start to finish, the tone really draws you in and you can’t help but read on. The characters are well written and all have something about them that makes you want to know more about their story, especially Amy Sun and her backstory, which I assume we will be diving into as the series continues.
From the first page you are pulled into the setting, we are given a police procedural feel to the opening and I think that will help move the story along. Although they are fairly standard tropes for this sort of story I think the put upon police Captain and then the friend at the morgue help give the story a sense of familiarity that makes it easier for us to be sucked in, it is almost safe and comforting. But that safety is soon ripped away and you will feel anything but comforted by the end of the issue. There is some real darkness in this story and that starts even before the introduction of whatever the Ribbon Queen is. There is human darkness to contend with here and sometimes that is even harder to comprehend as that is very much real.
The art throughout the issue is as great as the story, it's clean and clear without being over-detailed although there are a couple of panels that are really impressive right at the end of the issue.
All in all this was an amazing first issue, and I think that the series will only get better as it goes on. This is another great series from AWA and shows just how strong of a team they have creating this year, I would give this issue a solid 8 out of 10 but this series has the potential to hit a 10
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