Creative Staff:
Story: Cavan Scott
Art: Corin Howell
Colors: Triona Farell
Letterer: Andworld Design
What They Say:
Captured by supernatural secret agents, Gina faces the mysterious head of MI666. With her powers turned against her, the witch-turned-private investigator must risk everything to escape. But with her enemies closing in, can Gina resist one final call for help? Infernal Intrigue from Cavan Scott (Star Wars) and Corin M. Howell (Dark Red).
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening installment of this series presented an interesting modern-day London with some magic in it that definitely made me want to know more. But the foundational elements weren’t all there so there was a lot of uncertainty of the rules, so to say. Cavan Scott expands on that some in this issue so that things are a bit clearer but it also becomes a bigger book because of it, which is good. Corin Howell had a string opening with the design for it and that just expands with this issue as we get more characters, creatures, and magical elements that helps to give it a unique identity in how it operates and looks. Gina is still very much at the core of it and she was well-defined before but now she’s becoming more well-rounded.
This book opens with a bit of a flashback to Gina’s past when she was just eight, going through the problems that would alter her life. An abusive boyfriend of her mother’s that she lashed out at with powers she didn’t know she had, binding him to the house and walls. Her mother fleeing and disappearing from her life, and Gina discovering she could teleport as well, ending up far away and never coming back. Her exposure to the world at large didn’t showcase a ton of magic in a way but she’s aware of what’s out there as she grew up, but what she discovers here are that her captors from the end of the last issue are part of something larger. While she operated solo, she’s now learning that there’s a shadow organization that watches the country in order to secure anyone born with powers in defense of the kingdom and those that would invade.
Not that the trio that comes to her holding room explains this to her well as they see her as a tool and nothing more. They want to use her to get an in with Quill because he’s been using her to clean up some of the larger demonic types problems as Quill is a fixer for them, which is news to her. There’s a lot going on here with the confusion on her side and lack of real clarity by the others, but we see Gina at her purest here in being someone that works alone and isn’t interested in being kept in a bottle like a genie. Not that the others don’t give chase when she manages to find an out that they didn’t expect. It shows off Gina pretty well in what she’s capable of and how well she can hide, but the reality is that there’s a big organization in terms of at least power and likely tools that have now got their eye on them and she’s still trying to stick to her regular life in too many ways.
In Summary:
I like a good modern magic series and this one has a lot of the right elements to it. Scott and Howell definitely have their lead figured out and the more we see of her the better I like her and understand her, even if she makes some foolish mistakes along the way. The worldbuilding is definitely interesting and I like what we’ve seen but it hasn’t gelled together in a good way yet that makes sense and feels cohesive that I can wrap my head around. But the expansions are intriguing and there’s a lot to like as we start getting a sense of the bigger picture wit what this particular group is up to in defense of the kingdom.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: September 23rd, 2020
MSRP: $3.99