Book of the Week 10/3/07 The Vinyl Underground #1

Written by Si Spencer
Pencils by Simen Gane
Inks by Cameron Stew
Letters by Jared Fletcher

In a week that left much to be desired, I had a hard time getting into my normal group of books. A few were somewhat exciting but still left me feeling underwelmed (Sinestro Corps Special) and others, despite their great writers, were fraught with holes and tie-ins to a story I have no interest in (Detective Comics). A new title that sounded interesting was the only thing that left me intrigued this week. While not the strongest first issue I've read, The Vinyl Underground was exciting and fresh enough to keep my interest.

The premise of this book is nothing new. The subtitle "Cracking occult crimes in the U.K." should give you an idea. However, this is not an idea that I feel is played out or boring. I like investigative stories, I like occult stories, let's put those hands together. This book introduces a gang of misfit celebrity Londonites who unsuspectingly solve occult mysteries as a side job to their normally wayward lives.

This issue serves as the introduction to our main characters as well as starts them off on a new mystery. While the dialogue didn't always feel natural (which may just be because I'm not from England), it was the mystery aspect that intrigued me with this book. This very much felt like CSI meets E! In a week of normal superhero shenanigans, this book provided a breath of fresh air.