Rivers of London #4
Titan Comics 2015
Written by Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel
Illustrated by Lee Sullivan
Coloured by Luis Guerrero
Lettered by Janice Chiang
London’s police go by many nicknames such as rozzers and the filth, but only two are known as wizards: PC Peter Grant and his boss, Thomas Nightingale. Their investigation into an allegedly haunted car unveils a trail of motor parts that seem to be triggering a wave of murders and weirdness; it’s also taking Nightingale back to his youth – a time he really wanted to forget…
I think this story has some elements that appeals to a wide audience, like the car itself as an instrument of destruction, possessed and causing the owner to die ala Christine. But for me it’s blending that element with the police officers known as Wizards that really help this story get under your skin. That it is able to blend your average police work with supernatural entities and legitimate magic and have all seamless blend together as this were an everyday occurrence everywhere is what sets this apart.
As the story continues to reveal this issue there’s always something more than meets the eye going on. Celeste is in hospital in a coma and her sister, Kimberly Mapstone, is more than willing to talk and sell out her sister’s boyfriend believing it was the drugs he supplied that led her to her current state. Vitamin K, Ketamine, was what Reuel was peddling and everyone at the bonfire but Kimberly did the drug. Of course she said after that night her sister starting acting weird and was afraid of her car so she sold it. This ties into the other reports of the BMW 5 series of incidents.
However the drug really is a non-issue here as that’s not what has caused the fear of these cars and them acting up the way they have been. Still it’s a brilliant bit of misdirection for the moment. I also have to hand it to Lee for the use of the bullet one hitter we see them taking the drug from. That he’s able to showcase a device that puts one sniff/hit into it’s opening allowing the user to snort up just enough so accurately was interesting to see.
Well what happens at the graveyard of lost atuomobiles however says that Nightingale has suspicions for something else. What we see here is great for those horror/thriller aficionados! Aside from the creepy cars acting up on their own we see a bit more from Peter’s perspective and well yeah that’s great stuff. Lee and Luis manage to create that perfect amount of tension and creepiness that makes you surprised no one went screaming from the area.
This issue also has a pretty big reveal to it. Aside from Nightingale’s maid looking like some she-devil and his lamenting over Archie’s suicide the result of some good old fashioned detective work yields some unexpected information. I like where it’s all going and how it all ties into to what we’ve seen so far and the explanation while not fully there is in my head already so if i’m right great if not then i’m ready to be stunned. It’s like a natural, logical progression of the story and what we’ve learned though when dealing with the boys are here I could be so wrong.
This is a great series so far. It’s engaging, thrilling and has just enough of that real world work spliced with the magic/supernatural elements to make plausible and fantastical at the same time. Plus it’s got great interior artwork and the attention to detail all around is spectacular and helps enhance the enjoyment of reading the story.
Titan is having massively huge year with the quality of books they are releasing.
Titan Comics 2015
Written by Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel
Illustrated by Lee Sullivan
Coloured by Luis Guerrero
Lettered by Janice Chiang
London’s police go by many nicknames such as rozzers and the filth, but only two are known as wizards: PC Peter Grant and his boss, Thomas Nightingale. Their investigation into an allegedly haunted car unveils a trail of motor parts that seem to be triggering a wave of murders and weirdness; it’s also taking Nightingale back to his youth – a time he really wanted to forget…
I think this story has some elements that appeals to a wide audience, like the car itself as an instrument of destruction, possessed and causing the owner to die ala Christine. But for me it’s blending that element with the police officers known as Wizards that really help this story get under your skin. That it is able to blend your average police work with supernatural entities and legitimate magic and have all seamless blend together as this were an everyday occurrence everywhere is what sets this apart.
As the story continues to reveal this issue there’s always something more than meets the eye going on. Celeste is in hospital in a coma and her sister, Kimberly Mapstone, is more than willing to talk and sell out her sister’s boyfriend believing it was the drugs he supplied that led her to her current state. Vitamin K, Ketamine, was what Reuel was peddling and everyone at the bonfire but Kimberly did the drug. Of course she said after that night her sister starting acting weird and was afraid of her car so she sold it. This ties into the other reports of the BMW 5 series of incidents.
However the drug really is a non-issue here as that’s not what has caused the fear of these cars and them acting up the way they have been. Still it’s a brilliant bit of misdirection for the moment. I also have to hand it to Lee for the use of the bullet one hitter we see them taking the drug from. That he’s able to showcase a device that puts one sniff/hit into it’s opening allowing the user to snort up just enough so accurately was interesting to see.
Well what happens at the graveyard of lost atuomobiles however says that Nightingale has suspicions for something else. What we see here is great for those horror/thriller aficionados! Aside from the creepy cars acting up on their own we see a bit more from Peter’s perspective and well yeah that’s great stuff. Lee and Luis manage to create that perfect amount of tension and creepiness that makes you surprised no one went screaming from the area.
This issue also has a pretty big reveal to it. Aside from Nightingale’s maid looking like some she-devil and his lamenting over Archie’s suicide the result of some good old fashioned detective work yields some unexpected information. I like where it’s all going and how it all ties into to what we’ve seen so far and the explanation while not fully there is in my head already so if i’m right great if not then i’m ready to be stunned. It’s like a natural, logical progression of the story and what we’ve learned though when dealing with the boys are here I could be so wrong.
This is a great series so far. It’s engaging, thrilling and has just enough of that real world work spliced with the magic/supernatural elements to make plausible and fantastical at the same time. Plus it’s got great interior artwork and the attention to detail all around is spectacular and helps enhance the enjoyment of reading the story.
Titan is having massively huge year with the quality of books they are releasing.
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