Writer: Stuart Moore (surprise, huh?)
Artists: Pablo Villalobos (p), Mostafa Moussa (i)
Publisher: Penny Farthing Press
This is the first issue I’ve seen of this series, and I must admit to being a bit worried that – seeing as it is a six issue series – I would be a little lost…however, there’s a superb one-page recap up front (somewhat of a welcome staple of Penny Farthing books) which sets the scene and got me right into the heart of the action from the word go. The story concerns 29-year-old Sara Erie, whose father was killed 19 years previously in an accident during a remote test of a supercollider – now she’s wangled her way onto an investigation into the accident, run by her father’s research partner, along with her boyfriend and a secretive FBI agent (are there any that aren’t secretive?).
The only clues they’ve found so far are the word PARA, and a strange energy being which confronts Sara – and kills her boyfriend. After this, Sara is resolved to get to the bottom of the situation, regardless of what the FBI agent wants, regardless of what her father’s partner wants. This leads her into making an interesting discovery, and then taking a terrible risk, just as the mysterious FBI agent finally puts her foot down and reveals some of her true intentions. Regrettably it’s too late to stop Sara, and this is really the only area of the plot that doesn’t work for me too well – earlier on in the book the agent has all her pieces lined up, all the characters secured and ready to get them out, when suddenly she meekly allows some of them to leave, to free Sara up for the final sequence … it doesn’t really ring true with her earlier actions, it doesn’t seem right that she’d fall for an obvious ploy to distract her attention.
There are some wonderful colouring effects by Mike Garcia to enhance the art even further than the high levels set by Villalobos in his pencilling; it’s a gorgeous book, coupled with a real sense of menace a few pages from the end, and you really couldn’t ask for better in that department.
Overall, a success – a good issue to pick up as everything you need to know is explained, as well as the story moving on in leaps and bounds in this issue itself – makes me wonder exactly how much ground was covered in #1 and #2!
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