Review – Injection #6 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Declan Shalvey
Colours: Jordie Bellaire
Release Date: 13th January, 2016

Injection is back! After roughly 4 months, we finally get the next part in this sci-fi/horror/thriller/ series. If you haven’t read the first 5 issues, then this book is not for you. Shame on you, go read them, feel bad you haven’t read them before, then come back and read the rest of this with us. We can wait…

All good? Let’s get stuck in then!

“Here we go again” couldn’t be further from the truth.

For the return of the series, we almost exlusively follow Vivek Headland, who can only be described as James Bond if he were a total arsehole. Ellis really does go all out here to create an “international man of mystery” feel to Vivek, while also adding elements of Sherlock Holmes, with just a touch of Ellis’ trademark scathing wit. Safe to say there’s more than a few new favourite retorts coming out of this book! What we’re also greeted with, though, is a total tonal shift in the book. Gone are the spooky, Sci-Fi undertones, and the hushed sercrets that were peppered throughout the first 5 issues. While not a bad thing in any way, it just came as a surprise.

The art team of Shalvey and Bellaire are on top form again, with block coloured backgrounds lending to Shalvey’s almost JRJR linework in the foreground, focusing your attention onto exactly what the storytellers want. There’s also a rather nice inclusion, almost from the Gillan/McKelvie approach to panelling, where we see Headland move from room to room via a floor plan. It’s no surprise to anyone that Shalvey’s previous work (obviously not including past Injection issues!) has been on action-packed, city-based books (for those interested, go read Moon Knight, you can thank me later), and although it may only be used sparingly in this issue, boy…does he know how to do action sequences!

Aside from a few pacing niggles, an interesting turn of events that I genuinely wasn’t expecting, and the absence of ANY answers, issue six is a solid welcome back nonetheless.

P.S. Never mess with a man’s sandwich.

Rating: 4/5.

Chris_Avatar The writer of this piece was: Chris Bennett
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