The police are on the case, and there’s no shortage of suspects who committed the heinous act of murder.  Your Major Spoilers review of Gilt Frame #2 from Dark Horse Comics awaits.

GILT FRAME #2

Writers: Margie Kraft Kindt and Matt Kindt
Artist: Matt Kindt
Letterer: Sophia Hilmes
Editor: Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: September 18th, 2024

Previously in Gilt Frame:  Merry and Sammy went to Paris in hopes of selling a pair of antique chairs and maybe getting their hands on a pretty frame for one of Merry’s paintings.  Instead, they found their chairs destroyed and stumbled into a murder involving the family of the antique dealer they were working with.

ENTER THE DETECTIVE

Gilt Frame #2 kicks off with the arrival of the lead inspector on the murder case, Vailant.  His arrival is soon followed by the victim’s niece, her fiancé, and a business associate of the victim’s arrivals.  The inspector decides to interview everyone present, including Merry and Sammy, one at a time.  Each suspect is given a chance to tell their story, including their connection with each other and the victim.  Throughout the issue, more and more of the backstory is revealed, and the entire case becomes a complex web of histories, both personal and in general.  After the first round of questioning is over, Sammy and Merry head back to their hotel room, only to discover that it’s been completely ransacked.

NEARLY FLAWLESS, JUST A BIT TOO MUCH

Gilt Frame #2 doesn’t appear to be trying to do anything new with the murder mystery genre.  You have a brilliant inspector similar to a Poirot-type character, a slew of suspects who bump up against stereotype territory without crossing over, motives that range between money and family with everything in between, and an interesting setting.  It just happens to do all of these things incredibly well.  In particular, it does a good job of giving the reader all the information that the characters have, and even some they don’t.  So, at no point does it feel like the issue is going just to introduce some sort of unforeseen element; you have all the pieces.  Yet, by the time the final suspect is interviewed, there is a feeling that there’s almost too much information, and the level of intricacy no longer feels necessary but superfluous.

LETTING LOOSE

The art in Gilt Frame #2 is perfect for this story.  In multiple parts of the issue, a character will tell a story one way, but the art shows it play out in a different way.  It’s a subtle trick, but it works wonders in making everyone seem suspicious in one way or another.  There are also multiple instances where the view changes to reveal details about architecture and floor layouts that pull the reader in and make them feel like they’re part of the investigation.  Also, the visuals are a bit more brutal in this issue as opposed to the last, which does a lot to shift the series away from the very saccharine feel of the first issue while not losing the travelogue charm in that issue established.  All in all, the art here feels a little looser and they’re willing to play around more and break away from the realistic depiction of the setting.

BOTTOM LINE:  WORTH THE PRICE BY FAR

Gilt Frame #2 firmly establishes this series as a must-read for anyone with a passing interest in murder mysteries and detective stories.  The characters play with stereotypes in fun ways, which makes them far more interesting than you’d think, and the introduction of the inspector adds a nice wrinkle to the mix and moves the direction of the story away from what was hinted at before. It would be nice if the approach to this leaned closer to “less is more”, but there’s no denying that the mystery established here will satisfy any amateur sleuth. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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Gilt Frame #2

97%

97%

Tres Bien

Gilt Frame #2 really gets the ball rolling in terms of unraveling the central mystery of this series. The way it addresses sharing information with the reader and the use of the visuals is as good as you could hope for.

• Writing

  9
• Art

  10
• Coloring

  10
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  9.7