Bodies
Si Spencer, writer; Dean Ormston, Phil Winslade, Meghan Hetrick, Tula Lotay, artists; Lee Loughridge, colorist
Vertigo, 2015
An ambitious eight-part miniseries which spans four time periods, each illustrated by a different artist, united by the discovery of mutilated murder victims in London's East End (the "bodies" of the title). In each period there is a dedicated detective on the case, and a secret society with possibly some involvement in the murders. The eras echo each other throughout the series, with several represented in each of the individual issues.
1890 takes place in the era of Jack The Ripper. Illustrated by Dean Ormston (Vertigo series Lucifer & Books of Magick: Life During Wartime, and the Dark Horse series Black Hammer), it focuses on Inspector Edmond Hillinghead, a diligent detective who also struggles with his homosexuality.
1940 is set during World War II at the time of the Blitz. Illustrated by Phil Winsdlade (Vertigo series Goddess & Nevada, Marvel MAX's Howard the Duck), it stars Inspector Charles Whiteman, a Polish Jew who escaped the Holocaust. His life as a policeman is complicated by his double life as a racketeer.
2014 is the present at the time of publication. Illustrated by Meghan Hetrick (Vertigo series Red Thorn & Fairest), it centers on Muslim cop Detective Sergeant Shahara Hasan. She is fighting against racist rioters, a sobering reminder that not much has changed in the last four years.
2050 takes place after a pulse wave has created a techno-apocalypse. Illustrated by Tula Lotay (Vertigo's American Vampire & The Witching Hour, Image's Supreme: Blue Rose), the amnesiac young woman known only as Maplewood spends most of her arc trying to remember who she is, while also struggling to understand the corpse she has discovered.
Visually it's a striking series, each time period playing to the strengths of the artist. Colorist Lee Loughridge uses a dramatically different pallet for each era, reinforcing the different line artist's styles as well as making the time shifts clear to the reader. It builds toward a solution of the mystery continuing through the centuries. Which it does deliver, but it is an unsatisfying English unification message in the end (and the 2014 conclusion makes the entire 2050 sequence seem unnecessary). It also fails to deliver on the arresting cover image.
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