Epoch #2 (of 5)
Publisher: Top Cow
Writer: Kevin McCarthy
Artist: Paolo Pantalena
Cover: Paolo Pantalena
Detective Wright’s partner has been murdered during an investigation, and he’s on the trail to find the one responsible. That’s probably as normal as things are going to get for him, because since that night he’s had a hole punched in his chest, discovered his father and deceased partner were archangels, and has been thrown into a world of monsters that, up until now, he thought were the stuff of fairy tales and myth.
Things are starting to make more sense as McCarthy lays it all out on the table in this issue. The meaning behind Epoch and the reason for the council is explained in great detail. All of these creatures will be involved in a tournament to decide who will lead, which seems pretty straightforward. However, McCarthy has thrown in several twists that keep you guessing who is manipulating who and to what end. I also like how McCarthy has Wright basically thinking he’s only investigating a murder without knowing that he’s going to play a much bigger part in this story. Hopefully this will make the meeting between Aliyah and Wright that much more interesting, since she will be training him for the tournament that he doesn’t know he will be fighting in.
Throughout this expo heavy issue there’s Pantalena’s great artwork to help move the story along. The opening scene where Wright is in the room with the various monsters is a particular favorite of mine. Mainly because of the expression on Wright’s face and how disgusted everyone else is that he’s allowed in the room due to him being part human. Jorge Fares’s colors are just as amazing, especially when he has to enhance the energy that surrounds the warlock or the demon, making those panels look even better. The few action scenes we do get are great and each move is displayed clearly, which will be great since we’ll see more of it during the tournament. This part has me the most excited since each race is proficient in a certain martial art. From Jeet Kun Do to Capoeira to Muay Thai, so it will be pretty nice to see how Pantalena choreographs those scenes, because from the little we’ve seen in the past two issues things look promising.
McCarthy started off the first issue with Wright standing over two bodies, and this issue picks up a few seconds in that moment, but we get something new added to the puzzle as there’s a message written in blood. Who are the bodies? Who is the message for? The only thing we do know is that one of the demon race is involved and we’ve got a hooded figure that seems to be pulling the strings. No one trusts each other and things are out of balance, but it seems like McCarthy and Pantalena are on the right track to making this one fun mini-series for the readers.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
Review Copy provided by Top Cow.
