
Writer Chris Condon and artist Jacob Phillips, creators of the hit series That Texas Blood and The Enfield Gang Massacre , introduce us to a private eye whose business is exposing our deepest secrets… but on this job, he’ll learn that some mysteries are better off buried!
DC / Vertigo News:
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- DC Comics June 2026 DC ALL-IN ACT 2 Solicits
- End of Life #1, The Sharp-Edged New Thriller From DC Vertigo, Goes Back For Second Printing
- The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #1 Gets 2nd Print Run This April
- Vertigo’s Bleeding Hearts Goes Back For Second Printing In March
- ComicsPro 2026: DC Comics Announces Upcoming Vertigo, Absolute, Next Level Projects & More
New York City, 1941. Ezra Cain is a private investigator with a reputation for taking it on the chin if it means solving a case. But it’s his former life as an archaeology student that makes him the only man to track down an artifact that’s gone missing from the Museum of Natural History… an ancient anvil said to hold the power of the Greek god Hephaestus. If someone could harness that power, they could bend nations to their will.
Comic Watch Review:
- End of Life #1: Home is Where the Hate Is
- Bleeding Hearts #1: Heartless?
- Bleeding Hearts #2: The Other Side of the Coin
- The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #1: Detective Comics Return to DC
Science fiction quickly becomes Cain’s reality when a shadowy sect calling themselves the Brutal Dark appears in the city wielding resources that defy human logic. Now Ezra is the only thing that stands between them and their plot to overthrow America!

Christopher Mitten Variant Cover:

Leandro Fernández Black & White Variant Cover:

The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain #2
Karl Meyer is missing, and an anvil with occult powers has been stolen, and only Ezra Cain sees the connection.
But a visit with his old professor, Dr. Morris, comes with a caution: the anvil’s power is more dangerous than Ezra realizes.
After a tip sends Ezra to the Clockworkers’ Union in Brooklyn, he’ll come face to face with the mechanical menace that wields that power!
Creative Team
- Writer: Chris Condon
- Artist: Jacob Phillips
- Colorist: Jacob Phillips
- Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Cover Artist: Jacob Phillips
- Variant Cover Artists: Christopher Mitten; Leandro Fernández
- Editor: Chris Conroy
- Format: Limited Series
- Cover Price/Page Count: $6.99/40 pages
The Mystery And Intrigue Deepen in The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain #2 from DC Comics Vertigo Imprint





