What I'm Reading This Week: The Private Eye

Back in March 2013, superstar writer and artist team Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, alongside Muntsa Vicente, launched their new 10-issue series, The Private Eye, on their own, through a website they created in order to distribute their own digital only comics; panelsydicate.com. In the world of comic books, where everything is mostly handled and distributed by Diamond, it was a huge deal. Here we have, arguably, two of the biggest names in the comic book industry today, and they are going off on their own, making these comics available for the customer to "set your own price", and have it instantly. It was an unprecedented thing to do, really, but it turned out to be a huge success. With the first issue of The Private Eye out, I think we all knew it would turn out to be something special, and now, with just a single issue to go, I take a look back at what has made it so great to experience.

The Private Eye #1 Cover by Marcos Martin

The Private Eye is a mystery set in the year 2076, in a time after "the cloud" has burst and everyone's online secrets have been made public. Because of that, the Internet does not exist, and people walk around wearing masks and disguises out in public in order to keep their identities secret. In a world where the Press is the police force working to keep the peace, and paparazzi are outlaw private detectives who dig up dirt no longer availably because of the cloud having had burst, our protagonist just happens fall on the wrong side of the law when Raveena McGill, a one-time client, of this P.I. recommends her sister, Taj McGill, to him, and Taj is found dead the next day. Raveena wants revenge, and P.I. is stuck in the middle of solving the case while something much bigger is brewing.

Over the last week, I spent some time re-reading the series, and catching up on issues that I have not read yet. Reading it all at once made me realize just how rich the world that Vaughan and Martin have created is. It very much is a possible future for the world we live in today. It's actually a very scary realization that if something like "the cloud" bursting were to happen in our real world, something like this could happen. Nowadays, we are so interconnected through the internet, and everything we do goes on to the internet, and all of our personal information is stored somewhere on the internet, so it's a very real, and scary thought to have in the back of your head. It's also great fun to see this possible future play out the way it does through the way Vaughan, Martin, and Vicente bring the city and characters to life.

What we also have is a strong, and diverse, cast of characters. I read most of what I read because I enjoy character driven stories. If I can not connect in any way to character, or if a character is too shallow and is only there to advance the plot, then I tend to get bored very easily. How can I be invested in what the character is doing if they don't seem to be invested themselves? Like all of Vaughan's previous work, he does tell a very personal story to the characters he introduces. In the course of 9 issues, he has been able to accomplish a lot more than some series due in a much longer period of time.

Interiors from The Private Eye #1

It wouldn't be great comic book if it also didn't have the right people working on the art. Marcos Martin is a master of the art form, thankfully. He's able to take these complicated worlds and bring it to life for us to gawk at. There's always something beautiful to see on each page. The most impressive part, and what ties it all together with a neat little bow, at least for me, is the amazing character designs. Everything about Martin's sense of design screams "The Private Eye!" to me. It's a very unique thing to this world, and every bit as important. Then there's the colors by Muntsa Vicente, that just brings everything to life and makes it all pop off the page.

Both the art and the writing come together to form something that I will be sad to see go, come the end with the next issue. The storytelling is just impeccable. The synergy between Vaughan, Martin, and Vicente is incredible, and the story just seems to flow from page to page, and issue to issue. I could not imagine that would pick up this book and not have something to enjoy. The only inconsistent thing here has been the release schedule, but in the end, no one ever looks back and says "Wow, THAT book sure took forever to tell its story completely." No, in the end what matters is that it's good. And, oh boy, is The Private Eye good.

Interiors from The Private Eye #7

Check out The Private Eye, and other projects, over at PanelSyndicate.com