REVIEW: Veil #1-5

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Toni Fejzula
Review: William R. Davis Jr.

It feels great to be back writing for the HCB after a long hiatus. Since my last contribution, I have since moved into the vast frontier that is mainland China. Telling you that I have stories for days would be the understatement of the century, but if I can offer a quick vignette: just picture me walking down a trash-strewn open air market, eating a fresh slice of cantaloupe on a stick, and to my left squatting on the pavement is a small child peeing into the street whilst hundreds of unaffected onlookers riding bicycles pass anonymously.

But let’s be honest, I know you’re not here to bask in any of the nonsense that has become my life; your Twitter hashtag has directed you to this site because you are wondering whether to purchase this freshly completed miniseries by writer Greg Rucka and artist Toni Fejzula.

Sadly enough it is my sworn duty to inform you that Veil is a completely moot release from Dark Horse Comics. From the wildly inconsistent art, hurry up and wait storytelling, and extremely poor use of space, rest assured that if you are still wanting to take the plunge despite this strongly worded caveat all five issues of Veil are destined to be found in the dollar bin at your local LCS quicker than you can say Plebian.

Almost nothing happens in issue one, and if I didn’t have a deadline to meet my journey would have stopped there. Things start to get mildly interesting around issue five, but by then it was much too late for William Q. Comicbookreader. I am only one man.

Upon finishing the series, I spent a good ten minutes smoking a cheap cigar and reflecting on what I just read. As a concept, Veil is not bad. The poorly developed characters, sophomoric dialogue, and shoddy pencil work are what doom this series from even grasping at the hem of its potential. It fails as a horror comic and as a thriller. The misogynistic overtones and forgettable characters are merely the icing on the cake.

Until next month dear readers, I bid you adieu, or as we say in China: “Vaya con dios, motherfuckers.”