Titan Comics 2015
Created & Written by Mark Landry
Illustrated by Ashley Witter
Lettered by Tom Williams
With another storm brewing and the city’s death toll rising, Virgil LaFleur is forced to adopt more gruesome methods in order to protect his fellow citizens from the horrors on the horizon…
With each issue this story just gets a little more intense and crazy. Last issue we saw Virgil bust up the nightclub and run off with Trey’s girlfriend Mary. This issue opens up with Mary in a hyperbaric chamber because she has the bends, something which should be impossible as she wasn’t in or even near the water. Now Virgil wants answers this has something to do Trey and what he was working on.
I’m really rather impressed with the story Mark is bringing to us. I mean this started off for me as something that I thought would be totally different than what it’s turned out to be. I mean sure we kind of seemingly went off the rails with that whole club and the man running it but now that seems mild in comparison to what we’re seeing now. With the startling revelations Virgil learns from Mary things are moving in a direction that will forever change the world he lives in.
With Mother Taneesha and Simon Wolfinger now leading the newly christened hemovores the city of New Orleans is under siege in more ways than you can imagine. With a new storm akin to Katrina imminent Virgil needs help in figuring things out that beyond him. So he enlists the aid of a doctor whom he thinks he can trust. Dr. Yoshimi however is very quickly confronted by Simon who confiscates the flask. I liked this for a couple reasons chiefly because it shows Virgil was on the level about what’s happening in the city.
Before he can leave the hospital however Virgil is spotted and soon chased by his two favorite New Orlean’s officers. They aren’t the only ones after him and it’s race between the cops and Mother Taneesha who’s going to get to him first. In a series of events that need to be seen to be understood, like how Virgil gets out of this, and ends up with Dante is rather interesting. Seriously now there’s another faction to the city that Virgil never knew existed.
With new friends and a renewed purpose it seems it’s time for Virgil to go on the offensive and free the city from Simon’s grip. The race is on and time is running out can Virgil do what he has to to save his city?
Ashley’s interior artwork here is phenomenal stuff. I love her vision and the way she’s able to bring this all to life. From Virgil’s new homemade take on the local hero LaFleur to the outrageous Mother Taneesha’s unique look and all the attention to detail that we see here it’s just something that creates the world and makes it so incredibly unique. She’s an incredibly talented artist and her abilities should not be overlooked. I think she’s a rising star in the industry.
These are fresh new voices making an impact in the industry and rightfully so. This is an exciting, well thought out and extremely well executed story that will keep you guessing and coming back for more.