Comic Review: Newburn #2 (Image Comics)

Newburn #2, from Image, continues with Chapter 2 of “Everything I told you was true”, written by Chip Zdarsky, and illustrated by Jacob Phillips.

It’s arson. And Emily is investigating. And along with Emily, there is a dicey guy named Newburn. Newburn is connected to organized crime through his legal work, so Emily is a little reluctant to interact with him. But Newburn knows things, has years ‘on the job’, and despite his mercurial behaviour, seems to know what he’s talking about. Maybe he can solve the arson case. So, Emily clams up and listens.

Of course, things get complicated, and not everyone is prepared to play ball, be a good doobie. The tough get going, the fists are flying, the insults are par for the course. It’s all in a day’s work. Writer Chip Zdarsky keeps us involved in this detective procedural, and perhaps gives us things that aren’t essential to the story, for example: full pages of comments from Emily’s journal, and panel after panel of people telling us their opinion of Newburn. It’s not needed, but it does no harm, so I’m like all ‘whatever’, let’s keep reading this, it’s going somewhere.

The backup story, Brooklyn Zirconia, gives us a hospital conversation between Amir and Jacob. It’s tense, it’s confrontational. Not what the doctor ordered. Nadia Shammas has a gift for dialogue and drama, and artist Ziyed Yusif Ayoub (Frank Cvetkovic on letters) keeps the drawings linear and expressive. When the backgammon game with Tony allows Amir to say what he REALLY thinks of Jacob, well, cover your ears!

Image Comics, Newburn #2, $3.99 for 26 pages of content. Mature readers.