Plot: Nothing is what it appears to be.

Comments: The second volume of Gravel has been a deceptive piece of work so far. “The Major Seven” started off as a detective murder mystery (after being brought into the Major Seven, Gravel is asked to find out who killed his predecessor, Avalon Lake). Like any good mystery, nothing is as it seems. The central murder seems to exist only in hearsay--Cave asks Gravel to investigate the murder but Gravel hasn’t seen a body. Another contradiction is that the victim was supposedly killed in her place of power. Something that, according to Cave, couldn’t be done. Also, like a good mystery, the detective is up against a different world--a secret society which he is only beginning to learn the rules.

Everybody in the Major Seven has been around for sometime, some for hundreds of years, so there is a lot of history to sort through. Of course I said that this volume is a deceptive piece of work, and it is. There is a twist--the detective is killing the suspects. Gravel seems intent on solving the case but in a very unorthodox way. He killed another member of the Major Seven, Admiral Black, seemingly to see if he could do it or possibly because he has his own agenda and we haven’t been shown it just yet.

Other deceptions pop up. For example, tthere have been gaps in the narrative. Issue #10 ended with Gravel getting his arm chopped off but issue #11 has him in one piece and just a veiled reference to the event. This issue is no different. Cave is furious and scared that another of the Seven has been killed and he’s complaining about it to the killer. There is also the case of Gravel himself, an anti-hero at best. He’s a mean bastard, but not evil, and he does operate by a code of honor, so killing Admiral Black has to have a serious reason behind it. The big difference in this issue is the theme of nothing being what it appears to be has been emerging into the foreground. A Major Seven can be killed, they just need to be lured out of their place of power, Cave is hiding more than he’s sharing (so is Gravel for that matter) and another of the Major Seven, John B, a big menacing looking East Indian, takes Gravel out for a pint.

This conversation is the spine of issue #12 and quite possibly the entire story arc. Gravel mentions that John B’s sloop (named John B) shares a name with an old Beach Boys song. John B tells Gravel that it was an original folk song from the West Indies, and that he’s a poet by nature. Not the first impression you get from John B. Over the pint John asks Gravel if he used his occult detective skills to find him and Gravel returns that he just asked around. Cave thinks there is a natural order to things and for all their wisdom and collected years of experience the Major Seven don’t get that s*@t just happens. John also admits that he knows Gravel killed Admiral Black but he left his place of power to talk to Gravel nonetheless. Instead of a big magical fight between Gravel and B, John B just sails off.

This story arc has been deliberately confounding expectations. The first volume was a straight tale of revenge. There was the setup of the problem and Gravel going about solving it. This arc keeps twisting and becoming something else. Just when you think you’ve gotten the murder solved the story veers away from that plot thread almost altogether. The more that’s revealed, the more it seems that this arc is about death, not murder.

The second plot thread is that of Gravel’s rebuilding of the Minor Seven. It seems more straight forward but no less interesting. A self taught magician, Coltrane, confronts a swarm of necromancers. He almost doesn’t make it, but with a last minute save by Gravel he gets through. Coltrane is Gravel’s second recruit. The criteria he’s using to pick the candidates falls into the aforementioned code of honor.

In keeping with the theme about things not being what they appear I have to say a bit about Wolfer’s art and story contributions. Warren Ellis has top writing credit but it seems that Wolfer is the one doing the real scripting. Gravel has a lot of “Ellisisms” for sure but there is a type of focus that doesn’t show up in Ellis’ work. That’s not meant as a bad thing, I’m just saying Wolfer’s presence is detectable in this book. Not an easy achievement.

Wolfer’s art is as deceptive as the writing. At first glance it seems a bit blocky and has a rough look to it (especially the people) but when you look closer, detail shines through. An eyeless lizard on Gravel’s bookshelf, the twisty silver snakes Coltrane uses in his magic. The necromancer’s hideout is a great example--a few walls are seen but there is a sense of menace with magic symbols painted in blood on the walls and ceiling. The layout, from a narrative sense, is effective and forceful yet also focuses on minor details. Gravel’s conversation with John B has a panel showing them holding the pints of beer. The art grows on you, sneaks up on you, and clubs you in the back of the head with unexpected surprises.

Final Word: Everything about this book has delivered in spades and it’s a matter of faith that everything will make sense by the end of the arc. Those that read Gravel for the brutal violence always get their fill. If you read it for the supernatural elements there is no disappointment either. If you love this book for the sharp plotting, hang in there, it looks to be a mess right now but nothing is what it appears to be.

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