Velvet

• Title: Velvet Volume 3
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Ed Brubaker
• Artist: Steve Epting

The third volume of Velvet collects issues #11-15 of the Cold War spy series as framed super-spy Velvet Templeton returns to the United States searching for answers and ultimately bringing her face-to-face with the person responsible for destroying her twice – first as her agency’s top covert agent by tricking her into killing the man she loved, and then years later by framing her for the murder of another close associate. Although she isn’t able to reclaim her life by the end of this volume, Velvet’s search for justice will come to head.

If you haven’t been reading writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting’s series on a monthly basis (why wouldn’t you? this series is awesome!), these trade paperbacks make for a pretty fair value.

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Velvet – The Man Who Stole the WorldRead More »

• Title: Velvet #15
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Ed Brubaker
• Artist: Steve Epting

Velvet #15 concludes “The Man Who Stole the World” story arc by putting Velvet Templeton face-to-face with the man who framed her as a traitor and tricked her into killing the man she loved. Unfortunately this means the series is going on hiatus, allowing writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting to work on other projects, meaning it will be the last Velvet issue we get for awhile. And for a comic this good that’s disappointing news.

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Velvet #15Read More »

• Title: Velvet #14
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Ed Brubaker
• Artist: Steve Epting

Searching for answers about who killed X-14 and framed her as a traitor, and connecting that to the Watergate break-in, leads Velvet Templeton to Washington, D.C. where the spy makes a bold move in blackmailing Vice Gerald President Ford and kidnapping President Richard Nixon. You know, just another day for the world’s greatest spy.

Although the truth of what she discovers is kept from the reader, the answers to Velvet’s questions taste more like ash than victory. Her capture by Colt, who has continued to track her from her recent shoot-out in Washington, to end the issue only compounds the sense of failure as Velvet is staggered by what she learns from Nixon in the few moments she spends with the President in the subway tunnels under D.C.

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Velvet #14Read More »

• Title: Velvet #13
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Ed Brubaker
• Artist: Steve Epting

The line between friend and foe gets no less clear in Velvet #13. After tracking down the one woman who may hold the first real clue as to what is going on, Velvet Templeton is immediately surprised by the sudden reappearance of Damian Lake whose true motivations shock Velvet to her core.

Continuing to play on the fluidity of spycraft and a world of shifting alliances, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting offer Velvet an unexpected ally in this issue (if for only a brief moment) before throwing our heroine back out into the cold to fend for herself once more. This time, however, she does finally have a thread of the mystery to begin pulling on.

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Velvet #13Read More »

• Title: Velvet #12
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Ed Brubaker
• Artist: Steve Epting

Misdirection is the name of the game in Velvet #12 as Velvet Templeton keeps the traitor in her midst at arms length while creating an elaborate ruse to keep the spy agency hunting her off her back, all while trying to unravel the mystery of who is actually responsible for the crimes she has been framed for.

With the latest issue we see how Velvet continues to use her training in hopes of keeping those hunting her off her back long enough to find at least a breadcrumb which might eventually lead to some real answers. The game she continues to play with her old agency is both playful and deadly, but its the looming threat of Damian Lake, who catches up with Velvet at the end of this issue, that is the more immediate cause for concern.

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Velvet #12Read More »