The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #1 – Chris Condon, Writer; Jacob Phillips, Artist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Each of the Vertigo books so far has had a completely different angle to it, and this noir thriller by the team behind “That Texas Blood” might have the most eye-catching one yet. It’s essentially, what if we put a hard-boiled noir detective inside an Indiana Jones thriller? Things kick off in Greece in 1913, with a team of shady archaeologists seeking out an item called the Anvil of Hephaestus, a mysterious artifact that dates back to Ancient Greece. As soon as they find the temple, things get strange. The artifact is hot to the touch. An army of ancient automatons guard it. But the team perseveres, and obtains the artifact – but that’s just the beginning. In 1941, a man named Ezra Cain works as a private eye and “fixer”. He’s the type who will not only chase down a plutocrat’s stolen satchel, but get into a shoot-out with the thief. Fitting for a former WW1 fighter pilot, just as war is approaching again.
Once we depart Greece, most of the first issue is just introducing us to how Ezra Cain does business, and he’s an incredibly engaging lead at first. He’s morally flexible, haunted, but ultimately heroic and equally comfortable with connections on both sides of the fence. But when he’s called into action, he locks in and becomes one of the most skilled investigators out there. This issue pulls him into several different plot threads. A museum curator wants his help to track down the mysterious Anvil of Hephaestus, which went missing as Mussolini invaded Greece. A cop friend of his has put him on the tale of a missing German immigrant – and the man’s wife mentions a name that seems to send chills down Cain’s spine. This issue is a classic slow-burn noir, but there’s a supernatural edge to everything surrounding it that makes it feel new despite how many influences it skillfully pulls from.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
