Profane #2: (Non) Fiction

Spud Coltrane invented the character of Will Profane for his detective novels, and now Spud Coltrane is dead. Profane #2 takes the revelation that Will Profane is a fictional character and goes further, crafting a story that grows out of the overlap between fiction and nonfiction.

Will Profane stands in the office of his dead creator, Spud Coltrane, in the early pages of Profane #2. Finding Coltrane’s body causes Will’s memories to flood back. He remembers that he’s a fictional character who normally lives in a fictional world. Will became aware that Coltrane had been murdered the moment it happened. Will intends to find Coltrane’s murderer, and fortunately there is a way for a fictional character to enter the real world. After Will finds the superfan he needs as a sponsor, the investigation is on.

Profane #2 delivers a lot of much needed exposition. Though the way Milligan delivers it creates the possibility for brief confusion. The point at which Milligan splits the first two issues, combined with the way he transitions into the flashback, creates a bumpy delivery. The first time this issue is read, it is probably best enjoyed immediately following a re-read of the first.

Milligan doesn’t belabor the idea of fictional and nonfictional characters discovering that the other exists. He gets through the transition scene relatively quickly. And later in the issue when Will confronts a critical nonfiction character, they aren’t at all bothered by the idea that he’s fictional. This story decision helps move Profane #2 along and keeps some tension up.

The flashback exposition in Profane #2 doesn’t do much for Will’s development, though. He remains stuck in the mud to an extent, not really advancing beyond his depiction in the first issue aside from regaining his memory. Milligan does set up the possibility of a complex character arc for Will. Will repeatedly notes that he’s behaving almost exactly as Coltrane wrote. But there is also a scene between Will and Lili where he pushes back against the suggestion that he’s behaving a certain way strictly because that’s how Coltrane wrote him. There is a lot of potential here.

Fernandez’s propensity for harsher angles and rugged facial lines on Profane’s male characters works well in Profane #2. His physical encounters with male aggressors feel immediately violent, and it works for the tone of the series. The style also creates a major contrast between male and female characters with the latter looking much softer by comparison. The resulting differences between Will and Lili, for instance, significantly informs their scenes.

The detail Fernandez applies to Will’s face, especially in the close-up panels, adds heft to a character who doesn’t have a lot of personality so far. Fernandez gets there with shading rather than thick or long lines. It gives Will’s expressions more nuance than most other characters whose faces are detailed with heavier lines.

Marchisio’s bright color scheme uplifts the issue, even in Profane #2’s nighttime investigative scenes. The series is offbeat, but it does contain some noir and hard boiled crime story leanings. Coloring choices keep the issue from moving in that direction visually. Marchisio also makes the fictional world, what little is shown of it, bright and soft which offers a pleasant contrast to the real world.

Eckleberry does a good job organizing dialogue bubbles and caption boxes in what is a very text heavy issue. There is so much text in some panels that captions and dialogue all but obscures the entirety of the art. But Eckleberry is able to find ways to tuck it all into edges and corners–sometimes the middle of panels, even–to avoid obscuring the critical images.