Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Steve Epting
Release Date: 12th August, 2015

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With the aftershocks of The Secret Lives of Dead Men still resonating, the queen of espionage returns and boldly strikes out for the USA. Issue #11 finds Velvet seemingly delving deeper into the conspiracy behind X-14’s murder, investigating the shadowy conglomerate, Titan – a company that swoops after agency operations to reap the profits. Prior to her dramatic entrance a few pages in, our narrator is the fabulously-named Maximilian Dark, X-14’s American friend. Satisfyingly, much of the issue focuses on the procedural nitty gritty of spy-craft; the less glamorous underbelly of Velvet’s weekly exploits.

Luckily I’d taken the chance to binge The Secret Lives of Dead Men in preparation for Issue #11 and even after that refresher I still found myself a little disoriented by the plot at times. I think this works to Velvet’s advantage though, immersing the reader the world of espionage where there are no hard facts, and what little you do know is constantly shifting. I sometimes feel like I need to assemble an obsessive room of pictures pinned to maps with strings connecting everything just to keep track of everything. However, nice touches – like the embedded circular panels that pinpoint Velvet’s targets – work well to orientate you in the midst of constant plotting. As a reader you almost find yourself adopting a spy mentality, instantly mistrustful of any character you’re introduced to until proven otherwise, and even then keeping them at arm’s length.

Although I always find it slightly jarring to read Brubaker without having Sean Phillips on art, Brubaker and Epting make an equally impressive creative team here, as we’ve seen before in Captain America. Epting handles the subtle shifts between different time periods really beautifully and Elizabeth Breitweiser’s colours are stunningly cinematic. There’s a particularly gorgeous splash page with a lovely contrast between darkly inked shadows and vividly glowing tones creating an almost neon effect. She wisely keeps the procedural scenes almost muted and drab so that the more glamorous moments really pop in comparison.

As in previous issues, I just love how Templeton is rendered. Epting manages the tricky balance of showing her sexuality without things ever seeming excessive or exploitative. Even when she’s employing seduction as a means of manipulation there’s still as sense of her taking her own pleasure from the situation. It’s clear from Brubaker’s other work, Fatale, that he’s very interested in subverting the trope of the female seductress and both of these comics work to that end in interesting and very different ways. Velvet’s age adds an additional element to this as her more vampish moments play against the way that the world would so willingly reduce her to dowdy secretary. There’s a nice little dig about how western society values women over a certain age, when Velvet adopts grey hair to become nigh invisible, the perfect cover.

Issue #11 is a great tease for the arc to come, letting you glimpse just enough of the web of deception that surrounds Templeton without ever giving to much away. The final image of our heroine poised in the shadows shows her as caught in the midst of larger forces, but also very much in control. Thankfully, with poisoned lipstick in hand, she’s more than equipped to deal with whatever The Game throws at her, and with such gorgeous art and smart writing, I’ll definitely be along for the ride.

Rating: 4/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Kirsty Hunter
Kirsty Tweets from @kirstythehunter.

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