Besides a theft problem and a corruption problem, there is also a werewolf problem. Is it time to bring in Nightingale, and what does he know of werewolves? Find out in Rivers of London: Monday, Monday #2 from Titan Comics!

RIVERS OF LONDON: MONDAY, MONDAY #2

Writer: Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel
Artist: José María Beroy
Colorist: Jordi Escuin Ilorach
Letterer: Rob Steen
Editor: David Leach
Publisher: Titan Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 18, 2021

Previously in Rivers of London: Monday, Monday: The story focuses on a day in the life of Miriam Stephanopoulos. She heads an anti-street robbery task force, but when they set up a “shop” for stolen goods in the hopes of catching a culprit, some odd happenings mean she has to bring in Peter Grant from the Folly, the supernatural wing of the police. He confirms there is magic all over the “shop.” But that’s just the beginning, because Miriam is observant and suspects that the criminals may have help from someone on the inside. She sets up a trap, and it looks as though her suspicions may be right.

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Rivers of London: Monday, Monday #2 opens with Thomas Nightingale, head of the Folly, remembering his school days before WWII. For the new reader, this sets up the agreement about not using magic in the war. For the familiar reader, this is another tantalizing glimpse into what might have happened that sidelined magic for so many decades. His master tries to talk him out of it, not only because he has never been trained to kill people hand to hand, but because he feels Nightingale would be a good teacher.

And as it happens, he starts this morning to teach a Falcon Awareness Course, Falcon being the police code word that stands for magic-related issues. A handful of various police are in attendance, and the story flashes further back, finding a parallel to Nightingale’s school days. In this classroom of boys, Nightingale is the daydreamer and his friend Mellenby is the kid who knows all the answers. As a punishment for not paying attention, the Master creates a little storm cloud that hovers over Nightingle and rains on him. For exactly twenty-six minutes, Mellenby later informs him.

As it so happens, the police “shop” that figured in last issue is a handy place for a field trip. Nightingale takes his students there for them to learn about sensing vestigial, the traces left after the use of magic. Nightingale tries first, and we see from him, the expert, that a werewolf had been there. It’s interesting seeing the impressions of his students.

Later, Nightingale talks with Peter Grant about werewolves. These aren’t the classic monsters of legend. They are more like people who have acquired wolf-like properties to various degrees, and he has only seen them in Germany and occupied Europe during the war. What they all shared was a glamour that inspired fear, panic, and confusion.

We see a flashback to Prague in 1939, when Nightingale met Joseph Dohmen of the Weimar Institute, who seemed to be a perfectly charming practitioner of magic, but who later turned out to be in the SS, and to be using magic. This was 1939, before the war. Nightingale was allowed to leave, but not without creating a little storm cloud over Dohmen’s head.

VIVID SETTINGS AND CHARACTERS

The art of Rivers of London: Monday, Monday #2 covers a lot of ground and does it well. When we see Thomas Nightingale at school, we are reminded that he is a lot older than he looks. The schoolroom looks old-fashioned. The students are all young boys, and they wear uniforms. Still, considering this is England, that may not be enough. When Mellenby and Nightingale go outside, we see a game of cricket in the background, then some passers-by, a woman in a long skirt and broad hat holding a parasol, and a man in a boater and a striped jacket.

I also like the way Nightingale’s memories of Prague keep intruding on his day. The short, tantalizing scenes we see, such as a few panels of fighting a werewolf in the snow, expand on the story in such a way that we feel privy to Nightingale’s thoughts. The same holds true when we see when Nightingale met Dohmen, in a bar with Mellenby. He seems so perfectly charming, just what they would have been expecting in a colleague in magic, above things like war. When we later see him as SS, we can feel Nightingale’s sense of betrayal.

BOTTOM LINE: A FASCINATING WORLD

Rivers of London: Monday, Monday #2 builds on the story by following another character, but it does build on the story. I also like that it adds more to the history of the world which feels so rich, so close to our own, that it seems like magic is almost within arm’s reach.

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