The Vinyl Underground by Si Spencer, Simon Gane, Cameron Stewart(2008).
© DC/Vertigo

Mania Grade: B+
Title: The Vinyl Underground
Issue: 4
Authors: Si Spencer, Simon Gane, Cameron Stewart
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Price: $2.99

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The Vinyl Underground

The Vinyl Underground is one of the best books that you’re not buying. It’s not perfect, mind you. It’s frequently too hip for its own good and the resolution of an occult murder mystery feels a little too coincidental. But, even hip Londoners that listen to soul music, make Internet porn, and see through the eyes of the dead can solve occult crimes. In the case of Morrison Shepherd, we have the d-list celebrity son of a deceased football star that’s turned away from his lifestyle of drugs, tarts, and prison for a chance at personal redemption. Along with perv – a wrongly convicted sex offender, and Leah – a virginal Internet porn queen – he works as a sort of vigilante detective that leaves neat packages of very damning evidence for the London Metropolitan Police – usually packaged with an Otis Redding seven-inch, for their listening pleasure. By this issue, the three sleuths have very nearly solved the frame-up job of a deposed African king, accused of beheading a small boy in an occult ritual. Shepherd had a relationship with his daughter Abi that culminated in a nasty abortion and a nasty breakup. They don’t care to cooperate in freeing her father, but they don’t have much of a choice. Fortunately, their mate Perv looks just like the type that could run drugs for the London mob to New York, giving them an inside track on the real killers. 

The Vinyl Underground works best for its use of three very flawed protagonists. Morrison has kicked the drugs and completed a prison sentence early for good behavior, but he’s left a string of broken hearts and embarrassing tabloid headlines in his wake. Leah shamelessly uses her sex appeal to get ahead, but she’s still quick on the draw and loves a good dust-up – of more than one kind, I might add. Perv should never have done time as a sex offender, and his psychic experiences are agonizing. Television’s the Medium, he’s not. Si Spencer’s characters come off as so irresistibly human that you can’t help but turn the page to see what the hell they’ll say next. Simon Gane and Cameron Stewart turn in some nice pencils and inks, respectively, with bright, almost pop-art coloring provided by Guy Major. The Vinyl Underground is a nice looking comic, reminiscent of Becky Cloonan’s work on American Virgin, but slightly less flamboyant. 

Pick this one up. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting there. 

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at cinescape@mania.com.