Spektor01-Cov-WardThis week Dynamite comics has a new comic from writer, Mark Waid and artist, Neil Edwards.

I am a big fan of what Waid and the others are doing over at Thrillbent which made me extremely happy to get a hold of this title a little bit early.

The premise for the book is simple yet intriguing. Adam Spektor is an occultist with a mission. He fights the force of darkness and puts it all on TV to tremendous ratings. It is this high visibility and high ratings that appear to allow him to keep up the good fight.

The book opens up strong giving us a look into what kind of show Dr. Spektor puts on. It has all the parts that you would expect from a reality TV show; The dramatic demands for satisfaction from the monster, the tug on the heart strings as we are shown the victims, The climactic battle with items of occult value, and the final triumph of man’s ingenuity over monsters.

The use of a satellite as a weapon for fighting vampires is pretty freaking cool!

The book then allows us behind the curtain to see how things work when Dr. Spektor isn’t “On”. We get to see that the show is set up as support system for him. When he has these big wins he has a commensurate swing to the self destructive. his crew are there to pick up the pieces and help them put everything back into place because, despite the vaudevillian aspect to the show, he does good work for the world.

I wanted to read this book because of Waid but I had my reservations that it would come across as a cheap Hellblazer/Constantine knock-off. Instead, I am treated to a nice modernized version of the occultist character. Spektor has the heart I need to become attached to the hero of a story and the flaws necessary to make him someone worth following. It felt very much like he was the Anthony Bourdain of the occult world. I was impressed.

The art on the book is gorgeous as well. The cover itself is a sight to behold. Christian Ward has created something that I love on this book and would be proud to hang on my wall. The interior art by Edwards with colors by Jordan Boyd keep up the promise that is made by the cover. There is this rumpled aesthetic to the art that goes well with the story that is being told. It gives a surreal kind of edge to this reality TV take on the occultist character.

This goes up books goes on my “to buy” list for comics this week which is the highest praise I give a book, especially if I’ve gotten to read it before it comes out. It means I’m willing to spend my hard earned money on it.

I recommend checking it out this Wednesday!

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