Titan Comics 2015
Created & Written by Mark Landry
Illustrated by Ashley Witter
Lettered by Tom Williams
Haunted by the horrors that tore his city apart ten years past, Louisiana Coast Guard veteran, Virgil Lafleur, now finds himself at the center of a murderous conspiracy, as his hunt for his brother’s killers leads him to the Rising Sun Cabaret; the seediest club New Orleans has to offer!
What an oddly fascinating book. Seriously I wasn’t expecting this issue to play out like it did after everything from last issue. Sure we see Virgil in a whole mess of trouble and it centers around his little brother who died working on a project. Oh there’s also another hurricane coming supposedly bigger than Katrina right to New Orleans.
So we open with Virgil remembering something from his past with Trey. A bus stop and a locker where he used to leave Trey tokens while he was deployed. Alright so after retrieving what his brother left him we see Virgil going to the store and using his skill set he learned at work to build himself something explosive. Meanwhile he’s being followed by Arnaud. Whom we saw last issue had a hunch about Virgil.
I have to admit that I really like how this issue plays out. I was kind of surprised by the twist and turns Mark took here. Virgil on the verge of leaving town now finds himself trying to solve the mystery of his brothers murder and he’s got a corrupt cop to deal with along with everything else. It’s like suddenly he’s found the strength to overcome the tragedy that made him leave the Coast Guard to begin with and has found the inner hero inside him.
A little less stuck up and confrontational since he’s been through his recent stabbing. He’s inadvertently found himself a sidekick of sorts and inspiration in a local comic book hero. No he’s not trying to be some modern day vigilante but that doesn’t mean with his former line of work and knowledge he’s not going to go into things unprepared. It feels like we’re watching someone overcome tragedy to find within himself something extraordinary. One man’s journey through tragedy and emerging from the darker depths to become he was always meant to be and that’s powerful stuff and Mark is telling it damn well!
Once we get to the Rising Sun Cabaret things get incredibly interesting. Ah this kind of looks like a place you’d love to visit and experience at least once in your life. It doesn’t hurt either that a character like Mother Taneesha runs the joint. I mean “she’s” quite an interesting person to come across. That less than androgynous flair to him completes this whole underground crazy to him that people will gravitate to and then be controlled by. Case in point Mary, whom we last saw having sex with Trey at the lab.
Okay the more I see of Arnaud the more I like him. That line that she’s not his type please tell me that’s what I think it means and that he’s not crooked and will end up on Virgil’s side of things!
Ah Ashley I love her work and how she brings this to life. She has such a great imagination and way of bringing life to characters. The attention to detail is nicely done and the page layouts and panel usage really help the flow of the story. Oh and yeah Mother Taneesha freakin rocks!
Titan has some great books and great talent and if they doing things like this then they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.