From Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, and Munsta Vicente

 

It’s something to be said that you can wake up one morning and stumble into a comic project that you had no idea was coming. Let alone from someone as brilliant as Brian K. Vaughan. We all know know the back catalog; his work is loved among the comic masses, his time on LOST responsible for a set of characters that we’ve all seen cosplayed at cons all over the country! Now, with Marcos Martin and Munsta Vicente, together they bring us The Private Eye.

The concept for the comic is as mind blowing as the way it’s released. It’s rare to find comic creators willing to release their work DRM-free, let alone ask people what they want to pay for it. With this new work, that’s exactly what these guys did.

The story takes place in the future, where my generation is now older, and the internet is a thing of the past. The creators drive this point home with a somewhat moving scene involving the protagonists grandfather; a tattooed elderly gentlemen playing with an mp3 player, long since broken. The internet became a weapon, and led to a world shrouded in secret and secret identities.

The future world of this comic is the future that past generations had promised us would already be here. There are flying cars, futuristic architecture, and elevator trains. The cars are oddly reminiscent of the kind seen in Back to the Future, where the tires fold down and serve as a levitation device. As an avid reader, it’s a pleasure to see that books are still around; the main character at one point is reading Joseph Heller’s Something Happened.

The story revolves around a private eye/paparazzi known in secret as Patrick Immelman. In a world of secret identities and costumes that serve just the purpose, his services are very much needed, and come at a high price. He’s hired to find out information about the very person he’s been hired to do the job for, and by the end of the issue, Vaughan and company push the issue to an interesting set up for the next one.

Vaughan’s skills comes through in this issue, as he throws the reader into a world completely unfamiliar to them, but never manages to get them lost. Martin’s art is equally as impressive, he plays in this world with stunning beauty, and by the end of the issue, you’re craving more; this is a book you don’t want to wait a month for. You want it now! A project like this opens up doors for all kinds of comic projects. The sky really is the limit to those brave enough to enter those waters, but for now, dawn your Dreamcoat and enter this stunning world!

The comic can be found here.