New York City is full of characters, and there is never a dull moment or rest in the city. Despite its restlessness, crime follows suit in the same fashion as a string of murders occur throughout the city caused by an unknown killer dubbed the “Angel Killer”.
Detective Azzaro and Maria are assigned to the case, which leads them towards a downward spiral of blood and mystery. What do the victims of the Angel Killer have in common? Why does the Angel Killer pick his specific targets? What does the past have to do with the present in Detective Azzaro’s case?
Tomasi is no stranger to the detective genre having written stellar runs on popular superhero characters that dabble in that line of work. Tomasi kicks off the book and ends in with a particular running theme about death, and how it connects to the rest of the book as Detective Arrazo and Maria try to make sense of the investigation of the Angel killer is cleverly done. What makes a killer a killer? How does a pattern begin? What is the motivation? There’s something about the use of dialogue that is revealing about the characters within this book. Whether it’s the use of phrases, or the delivery, the expressions displayed through the use of dry wit, sarcasm, skepticism, amongst a wide range of emotions is brilliantly written by Tomasi. For all his stoicism, Detective Azzaro is a humorous character in his own right, approaching various crime scenes with a wit that is required to stomach that line of work on a daily basis. Tomasi takes the time to establish Azzaro’s relationships with the various characters in this book regardless, which does not affect the pace of the story and gives more depth for character and plot overall.
The art is handled by Maxim Simic who has a great understanding of gesture and dynamics. While his art style is animated, his ability to portray quiet moments that have gravity and moments of levity is nothing short of amazing. Especially for a detective story that is procedural, and is less on action and more on character moments, which isn’t a bad thing in this case. John Kalisz handles the color duties, accompanying Simic’s art to add more volume and texture, which elevates the atmospherical tone of the art, along with Rob Leigh’s lettering. If you’re looking for a new crime thriller comic to check out, this is one worth adding to your pull list for new comic book day.