Writers: Mathieu Gabella
Artist: Fernando Dagnino
Colors: Carlos Morote
Letters: Vibrant Studios
Publisher: Ablaze
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 31st, 2024
Bits of Sebastien’s backstory are revealed in The Agent #2, as Rhym tries to understand why no one but her remembers what happened in last issue’s subway station drug raid. Meanwhile, a huge meth delivery is about to go down in the heart of Paris, and the meth supplier, well-versed in voodoo, is prepared to launch a magic assault on Rhym and the police force that will rattle them to the core.
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The Story
The Agent #2 continues its unique take on urban fantasy, blending “Law & Order”-type drama with magic and politics to create a thriller with a hard fantasy edge.
A key moment from Sebastien’s boyhood is revealed at the beginning and ending of the issue, and we get a few scenes with him in between. I thought that the series was primarily going to focus on Rhym, but it seems Sebastien will be getting the same amount of “screen time”. Both Sebastien and Rhym have no-nonsense attitudes, but where Rhym is grounded in the stone-cold reality and what’s in front of her eyes, Sebastien is a serious student of magic in all its forms, and there are many flavors of magic in this world. In this version of the United States, war and terrorism aren’t delivered solely with explosives and ammunition, it’s done with magic too. There’s a whole sub-culture of people in different nations, wielding a variety of witchcraft, voodoo, herbal magic and other forms of wizardry to attack and commit crimes (including murder) across the world.
I love that the book gets into the details of magic. The magic users in this series aren’t like Zatanna or Doctor Strange, wielding magic with wild gestures, backwards phrases or Shakespearean rhymes. Those definitely are fun and have a place, but here, we see a voodoo practitioner carving out the meticulous figurines he’s later going to use in his attack. When herbal magic is used, every herb and flower is named and categorized with a certain power, and are tossed at opponents like the most formidable weapons.
Not much is done with Rhym this issue, as she puzzles over why she’s remembering something from the day before that no one else can remember. She’s very much the stereotypical hardened police officer. If this were a film, she’d be yelled at by her supervisor for “breaking the rules and being a wild card”. The book keeps hinting that she has magic powers not even she is aware of, and I’m looking forward to that being explored in future issues.
The Art
Fernando Dagnino’s art on The Agent #2 has a very gritty grounded feel reminiscent of Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil back in the 1980’s. The art style fits the book perfectly, keeping the horror and magic elements low-key and making the book feel like a noirish police procedural.
Final Thoughts
The Agent #2 is a solid sophomore issue in the series, building on Sebastien’s character and providing hints to his backstory while fleshing out the status of politics and magic in this world. The climax of the book is startling and horrific, showing a truly unique spin on voodoo. I’m looking forward to next issue to see how Rhym and Sebastien’s story continues.