Death Vigil #7
Publisher: Top Cow
Writer: Stjepan Sejic
Artist: Stejepan Sejic
Cover: Stjepan Sejic
Sejic threw us a curve with the reveal of a traitor amongst the Vigil which resulted in a serious butt kicking and Bernie’s capture. So with the pace slowed down in this issue, Sejic dives into some more character building and some revelations regarding Sam while also teasing more about Clara’s powers which seem to be a mix of both the Necromancers and Vigil.
One of the stronger points of Death Vigil is how Sejic has quickly and effectively established the element of family when it comes to the members of the Vigil. Especially Clara’s devotion to them (considering how new she is to the group) which is reinforced during an intense scene between her and Sam. Another sequence that hits you in the gut as Sejic shows us one of Sam’s memories that explains the origins of his Veilrippers. It’s a touching series of events that build quite effectively to Clara being a badass once again motivated by her love of her new family.
Even with the emotional moments and story building going on, it’s not all seriousness as we get a bit of levity from Sejic. He’s got almost perfect timing when it comes to the humor and what is even better that at no point does it feel forced or formulaic. Clara’s call to Jane was a perfect example of this as it moves with the flow of the story and though it’s funny the tension and sense of urgency isn’t lost.
I wish there was some way to compliment Sejic’s artwork that hasn’t been said already. The guy continues to deliver quality visual storytelling that enhances his narrative every step of the way. He consistently fills up entire pages with so much that your eyes will be more than happy taking it all in. There’s some parts that move the story with a very subtle touch as he’s continuously showing the transference of power from Bernie to Maria throughout the issue. It’s nothing big or distracting to the story but it’s just simple shades of hair color changing that get the point across perfectly. He also continues to integrate the panels into the story in unique ways that are pertinent to the story and look great in the process. It’s really hard to believe that there was a time when I wasn’t a fan of Sejic’s work. What was I thinking?
Death Vigil continues to be an amazing fantasy series that has done everything right so far. From the great storytelling to some of the best supernatural creature designs to see a comic panel and it’s been a series worth checking out. If you’re new to this title then I’ll just suggest you go ahead and start reading it. We mentioned last week that Sejic has made the first six issues free and even with the gap in between the last issue and this one it was definitely worth the wait and then some!
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
