Area 10 HC

I generally read everything by Christos Gage, so I checked out his new Vertigo story from the library. It's quite good. I don't know what's happening, I hope I'm not growing up or anything, but some of my favorite comics recently have been Vertigo titles.

The story follows a homicide detective who gets a traumatic brain injury while investigating a serial killer. An ice pick in his forehead mimics the old pseudo-science of trepanning, or putting holes in the skull to increase consciousness. Things get more and more complicated, and Gage does a great job of making the odd situation still feel like a police procedural.

I especially love the dialogue; the tone between the detectives themselves, and when they deal with their captain, and even the love interest/doctor really made the characters feel realistic. The murderer had some GREAT lines, and since he's into trepanning too, the conflicts in this book ALMOST turn into super-fights, but not quite. This could easily be a film.

Chris Samnee handles the dark material well. His heavy inks are always nice and clear and lend some great weight to the scenes of expanded consciousness. I'd love to see these two creators work together again.

Good