SHADOW SERVICE #2: You Need a Stronger Stomach

Cavan Scott and the team, spin a second issue that explores the trauma of the central characters’ past while expanding on the set of main characters by introducing us to the namesake of the title, section 26 known amongst its operatives as MI666.

Scott further emphasizes his main characters strongly distrusting nature and her reaction to meeting other people like her by first expanding on her first very traumatic experience with her own magic before having her interact with the new characters who also have magical abilities, from there it’s a chase as Scott has Gina balks at having anything to do with this organization, escaping and going on the run even as they tell her or at least partially what she is embroiled in. The dialogue is strong and so is the internal narrative as Gina tries to process what’s happening in her own head while trying to avoid being taken back into custody, along the way we discover along with the character that Gina knows a hell of a lot less about what she’s mixed up in than everyone else around her, ultimately trying to do her job as private investigator but managing to only find herself further embroiled in this hidden world of demons and secret magical taskforces. The new characters introduced are interesting if only partially fleshed out which is another hook to get you to want to read the next issue, Who is Hex, what can he do? why is he a child? These are very appealing hooks in an issue that while not progressing hugely narratively, gives us new characters and enough info to want more.

The art from Howell and coloring from Farrell are once again as strong as in the first issue, great dynamic movement, lots of varied angles, strong line work with excellent detail and rendering especially on the pages with splashy panels, those moody colors are there again emphasizing the darkness of the world Gina is in starting with dark purples, shifting to malific green and then later to blood red at the end, and of course there’s the rain ( it is England after all).