VELVET #1

A female James Bond...has it been done before? Probably. I just can't think of a book or film that comes to mind. I never saw JJ Abram's Alias TV show...that might have been similar. But here's a new female spy comic book from writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting. Brubaker, as you know, did a stellar run writing Captain America recently. While the broughaha was that he killed Steve Rogers, what he also did was make it a great book people talked about for the first time in decades. He quit Marvel to focus on his creator-owned book which was probably a good thing since his Winter Soldier book was barely compelling and his heart didn't seem into it. Fatale, his Satanic/monsters/crime mash-up book for Image, has been gang-busters, though, so he definitely is still a terrific writer when he cares. , though, so far is paint-by-numbers stuff. The art by Epting is top-notch and it's intriguing but not all-together great. Velvet is a spy in the 70's who ends up being falsely accused of being a villain and she must go on the run and apparently find out who's double-crossing her. It's a decent first issue but not something that screams originality or something that'd make you dying to get your hands on #2. **