Rhymes With Geek

Bodies #1
Author: Si Spencer
Artist: Meghan Hetrick (2014), Dean Ormston (1890), Tula Lotay (2050), Phil Winslade (1940), Lee Loughridge (Colors)
Publisher: Vertigo
Reviewer: Nikki Sherman

Looking for a mystery that defies both time and industry norms, all while presenting a compelling story that’s truly one for the ages? Bodies #1, written by Si Spencer and drawn by four talented artists (with consistent coloring by the one and only Lee Loughridge), represents everything that Vertigo strives for with its “Defy” tagline. With four stories limited to a strict six-page maximum per issue, Spencer is weaving a thrilling tale that serves as an artist showcase and detective story for the books. Is it worth the continued investigation and the hard-earned cash from your wallet?

Story

Bodies #1 seems like a simple tale at face value: the same corpse is discovered in the same location by four investigative bodies across four time periods. Each story is given a quarter of the issue to not only introduce its main character, but also the circumstances of the discovery and the state of London during the time period being explored. The cast is diverse, ranging across gender, race, and creed.  We have 2014’s Detective Sergeant Shahara Hasan, a religious police investigator who strategically navigates the religious and political turmoil London is facing, and 1890’s Edmond Hillinghead, a secret investigator determined to solve the case far ahead of his time. We also meet 2050’s eccentric and hard-to-pin-down Maplewood, living in a devastated terrain and the 1940’s noir detective Karl Whiteman, who skirts the line between dangerous undercover work and police extraordinaire. In each time period, the same body is found, tortured and strangely marked, leaving each investigator to puzzle over how the body got there and what caused the disturbing death.

What’s most amazing to me is how Spencer manages to capture a distinct voice between each of the time periods and with each character. If I didn’t know better when reading it, I’d have thought that there was a different writer at the helm in a couple of the time periods. Spencer is able to seamlessly convery that these are four distinct years, but does so in a way that lends itself beautifully to the overarching story. Though he certainly captures the tone of each period, that tone often contributes to difficulty understanding what exactly a character is saying. In particular, I had a little trouble with the 1890 period, but it’s nothing that a couple read-throughs couldn’t solve. The overall story is unique, and by the end of the issue, the reader no doubt will have countless questions on their brain. You know you have something special on your hands when your questioning time travel in new ways, thoughtfully pondering whether or not the killer or the body itself is what is displacing time itself.  Story: 9.5 out of 10

Art

I want to start by acknowledging that what Loughridge has accomplished with this series so far is nothing short of amazing. In the same way that each story in the issue is tied together by the tormented body discovered by the investigators, the art in each story is carefully threaded though Loughridge’s keen eye for color. While working with different artists on the same series, but keeping a consistent colorists is not necessarily groundbreaking, the way Loughridge meticulously matches colors with not only artistic flow but with the time period as well is a sight to behold. The 2014 piece is modernly rendered; the 1890 scenes feel like something straight from classic fiction; the futuristic 2050 location is brightly lit and post-apocalyptically dulled in all the right ways; and the 1940 time period feels pulpy and off-beat enough to be a scene out of Sin City. And while the art for each section should be properly lauded for its ability to portray the period, it’s hard to tell just how effective it would be without Loughridge.

As for the inks and pencils for each section, each artist is clearly a perfect choice for what they are required to showcase. The art beautifully renders the mood of the period, yet remains grim and determined consistently throughout the book. While readers will likely pick their favorites, it’s next to impossible to put this book down without a firm appreciation for the task each artist has accomplished, all working with Spencer’s grand design in a spectacular fashion. Art: 9.5 out of 10

Overall

Spencer and co. have something spectacular going on here. With eight issues in the mini-series, and six pages per story each issue, we’ll essentially have two issues for four amazing stories telling one master narrative. Like something of an extended anthology, I can hardly wait to see where Spencer and his merry band of artists have in store for the audience. Though the story has barely unfolded, I’m intrigued enough to continue along, and hope you will too. Overall: 9.5 out of 10

Check out what other reviewers thought of this issue and others at Comic Book Roundup!

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