Ed Brubaker

After one of the world's greatest spies is killed, the evidence points to Velvet Templeton, the personal secretary to the director of the agency, but Velvet has a secret buried that is about to be revealed.

Before the Living Dead

Velvet

The strands of the mystery finally bring Velvet back home to the US, and to Washington DC, for the explosive finale to the first big Velvet storyarc. About the Creators: Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting are the best-selling creators of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

The Man Who Stole the World

Velvet 3

Maggie Gordon

The Man Who Stole the World is a fantastic end to an amazing series. Brubaker wraps up his story about a female spy without any of the stereotypical trappings of other stories in the genre. Velvet is a woman, but that is not the story. She's a kickass spy who uses whatever tactics and actions she needs to in order to figure out who has framed her and killed the people she loved. In this last volume, she finally solves this mystery and deals with the people who started the conspiracy against her. She's vicious when needed, brilliant always, and she still has a sense of ethics that makes the ending so much more impactful. Great series, great art, great main character - pick up all three volumes as you will not regret it!

Ley Stanton

This was a lot more enjoyable than reading it as the issues came out, which is why I actually stopped reading it. The story was too complicated and spread out to enjoy in so was out installments. But I really got into this time, I read it about an hour. I'm really looking forward to how this story unfolds but I will have to wait until I get my hands on the next volume. 

Would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants some James Bond in the lady version. Time for her to step up from being a secretary and showing her true colors.

Sarah Escorsa

Move over James Bond, Miss Moneypenny is taking over.



Mind if we talk about me for a minute? No? Thanks. So lovely of you.

I've never been a comics fan. I never read comics growing up and my life has always revolved around books, books, books and more books. I remember visiting my cousins as a little girl, seeing comics everywhere and thinking to myself: "these people are weird. Their books are full of pictures. Where are all the words? And what are all these bubbles for anyway?" 

So there I was, living happily ever after (figuratively speaking obviously, there are no HEAs, you silly) in my books-only world when I came across a review for The Wicked + The Divine. And I thought to myself: "well that looks intriguing. But it's a comic. I'm not actually considering buying a comic now am I? A silly thing full of pictures? What is wrong with me?" And then I thought to myself: "time to put the crazy on, time to buy a COMIC!"

Wanna know what happened?



Smurfs begone! This ain't no Asterix world! Yes, reading The Wicked + The Divine was pretty much a mystic revelation for me (you know, the skies opening up and all that). So when Nick suggested I read Velvet I just couldn't resist. I mean, spy thriller + girl power? I was doomed. And here we are.

To be honest, I wasn't a HUGE fan of the graphics at first but I have to say they grew on me as the story progressed. And now I think they're very cool. See this ↓↓↓? Very cool I tell you.



I've always been a huge James Bond fan. Not the Daniel Craig version (please don't insult me), the Sean Connery version. What really is amazing here is that Epting perfectly recreates the atmosphere of the early Bond films. Reading this comic actually made me want to watch a "from Dr No to Diamonds Are Forever" marathon (if you have no idea what I'm talking about here let me tell you, your education has been severely lacking).



Some of the art here is absolutely amazing. The level of detail is impressive and the general mood set by Epting fits the era perfectly.



The coolest thing about Velvet? Velvet Templeton, obviously. It's 1973, the height of the Cold War. Velvet is the personal secretary to the director of the MI6-like Agency. After the Agency's best agent is killed, all evidence points to Velvet as the mole behind the execution. Now why would a boring personal assistant have anything to do with the murder of a spy? Velvet isn't your everyday secretary you see. She was one of the agency's top agents in the 1950s, until she was forced into early retirement and ended up spending her days behind a desk. Now what do you do when you're wrongfully accused of a crime? You run for your life and try to clear your name. The race is on.



What I love here is the way Brubaker chose to portray Velvet: a forty-something female spy during the Cold War, generally kicking ass and using men as much as they used women at the time. How will you have your clichés Mr Brubaker? Shaken and stirred, thank you very much. Take that Mr Bond.



The story is simply fantastic. It's dark, fast-paced, action-packed and the flashbacks about Velvet's spy days add a lot of depth to the plot. The twists and turns keep you engaged until the very last page. Open this comic at your own risk. Because when you do you won't be able to put it down.

You like good old spy stories? You like James Bond? You like badass chicks? Then Velvet was made for you. READ IT NOW.

· Vol. 2: The Secret Lives of Dead Men ★★★★
· Vol. 3: The Man Who Stole the World ★★★

· Vol. 1: Before the Living End ★★★★
· Vol. 2: The Secret Lives of Dead Men ★★★★

Velvet Before the Living Dead

Reviews