Rhym’s world is one of undercover police operations and busting illicit drug dealers. Will she be able to accept the existence of magic? And… does she have a choice? Your Major Spoilers review of The Agent #1 from ABLAZE Publishing awaits!
THE AGENT #1
Writer: Mathieu Gabella
Artist: Fernando Dagnino
Colorist: Carlos Morote
Letterer: Vibrant Studios
Editor: Kevin Ketner
Publisher: ABLAZE Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 20, 2023
Previously in The Agent: For some, magic is a myth. For others, it is a weapon. Rhym, a young narcotics lieutenant, is about to find this out the hard way when she finds herself confronted with the impossible.
But can she balance her career with her newfound mystical prowess?
MORE THAN A MYTH
We start beneath the streets of Paris, as a massive drug deal is about to go down. Unbeknownst to the would-be dealers, the police are also on-site, and they’re being monitored closely. It turns out to be a bit too close, as a woman named Rhym gets noticed by the criminal, who prepares to shoot her. Then… something happens. Realizing that she’s not harmed, though she should probably be dead, Rhym focuses on running the man down, while everyone in the subway around her seemingly goes mad. Meanwhile, in a farmhouse outside Saclay, a special agent named Sebastian Ferray deals with an equally strange problem: A man who has, for reasons unknown, flown into an impossible rage and threatened his family.
What do the two events have in common?
A TOO-ABRUPT ENDING
It’s honestly hard to tell, given the point where the issue breaks off. But Sebastian is apparently going to try to recruit Rhym for… something. If I were a guessing man, I’d say that this issue was written in French, then translated into English, which may have some effect on the effectiveness of the transitions. I’m not entirely clear on what happens in the tube, whether the bystanders are blind, or have lost their memory, or something else entirely. That’s not a deal-breaker, though, as Dagnino’s chase sequence is impressive in both its storytelling chops and in its beauty. I’m also pretty sure that this wasn’t written as an individual 22-page chapter, as it ends in a terribly frustrating place. That said, I think that this book has some amazing cover appeal, and the art makes up for a lot of the issues with the pacing of the story.
BOTTOM LINE: AN INTERESTING START
All in all, The Agent #1 raises far more questions than it can answer in the page-count given, but does so with really attractive art, a few narrative hiccups, and a premise that could have some legs, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. When the next issue comes out, I’ll be interested in seeing if it supports or disarms my suppositions about the materials being translated and artificially segmented.
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THE AGENT #1
The first chapter of Rhym's story has a lot of interesting parts, but doesn't quite work as a 22-page installment. I like what they're going for, though.
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Writing6
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Art8
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Coloring7
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.