Last Issue
Our story started in the first issue with things looking up for Janie Jones “Strummer” Mercardo. She had a nice relationship working with her girlfriend Carly. There were even mentions of love bandied about. Her business had been going well with her latest case resulting in a new intern. A half-demon girl named Claire Jenkins who Strummer and crew had saved from her low life “boyfriend.” Now Strummer and Ben are showing her the ropes before she goes off to college. The only possible issue was a package that was delivered to her door from Rainsford Black. The monster hunter she dealt with in Volume 1. At least it could be a problem if her partner Ben lets her know it was for her.
Opening Someone Else’s Mail
That issue is resolved quickly when Ben leaves the empty box for Strummer to easily find. This did not however, get him past the need to apologize for opening her mail. He had spent the night going through the contents. They appear to be pages from the “Key of Solomon,” a book of magic spells that Solomon reportedly used to conscript demons and the like to do his bidding. But while the pages are over 1,000 years old, they are different from that of the widely accepted version of the Key. Not to mention that there are at least 20 pages missing.
The Misdeeds of Rainsford Black
The question is, why would Rainsford Black send the pages to Strummer. Although she hoped to never deal with the man again, the best solution was to pay him a visit and ask. Along the way they picked up their new intern Claire, explaining Strummer’s disdain for the man they are going to see. Just because he arranged for Strummer to be shot and kidnapped by Nazis. Not to mention misleading her with a fake case, just so she could lead him to his prey. Is that any reason to hold a grudge?
They knock on his door, but his assistant Galatea proclaims his absence. Not too convincing to a half-werewolf with a highly evolved sense of smell. She walks toward the door where the smell of Mr. Black permeates from. As Galatea realizes that Strummer is going to enter whether she is forbidden or not, she quickly warns her that Mr. Black looks a little different than when she last saw him.
The Mula Sem-Cabeca
The reason for this is soon revealed. Rainsford Black’s face show the burnt marks of a man whose hunt didn’t go as planned. He had been after the Mula Sem-Cabeca, a headless mule that spouts fire from its neck. The resulting confrontation left him scarred and as Galatea would admit, diminished. Although, he disputed Strummer’s thought that he was trying to collect the animal. He told her he just wanted to ride it. Strummer laughed at this proclamation, inspite of herself.
The Key of Solomon
After show and tell were over, Rainsford asked Strummer why she had come. She explained about the book and asked him why he had sent it. He looked somewhat surprised and said that he didn’t send the book. However, he did have something to show her, Ben and their new intern. He took them to his office and pulled out the missing pages from the tome. Ben examined them and verified they were similar to the book they had received. Which prompted Rainsford to explain what he knew of the book.
The Woman and the Book
He spoke of his early years, when he was rich, smart and bored. This led him to relationships with many women, but nothing that stuck. Eventually, he was in a relationship with a woman who gifted him the spell book. Just for a lark (as far as Rainsford was concerned), they attempted one of the spells in the book. As best he could tell, nothing happened. They went on with their lives as before until one night, the woman he was in bed with became a creature.
Whether it was real or not, he wasn’t sure, but it frightened him enough to try to keep such an occurrence from being repeated. He tore out the pages that allowed the spell from being completed and then he left her. After that time, when he tried to recall what she looked like or anything about her, the face he saw was a blank. However, he did later receive an anonymous photograph of a young man with the name Cambion Black. His son, perhaps? He didn’t know.
Another Job Offer
All he knows is HE didn’t send the book to her. But since she has it and is now aware of the circumstances surrounding it, he would like to once again secure her services. For REAL this time. To locate the woman and perhaps, his son. He had Galatea bring Strummer $50,000 and an envelope. Inside the envelope were two silver bullets, to be used at Strummer’s discretion. Looks like Strummer was once again in the employ of Rainsford Black.
A Grim Home Coming
After arriving at home, Ben noticed that their door was ajar. Upon entering, they saw a creature threatening Carly. Strummer didn’t hesitate, changing into her wolf form and attacking, knocking it away from Carly. The creature, sensing more danger from Strummer, turned its attention on Ben, grabbing him by the throat. Strummer took the dog bone from her neck and tossed it to Ben. As the legend goes, the haunted bones of a dog, buried centuries before, wherever those bones go, the Grim will follow. Ben shoves the bones down the creature’s throat. Within moments, the Grim burst out from inside the creature leaving entrails in his wake. That doggy is going to need a bath later.
Not Prepared for the Truth
Carly was saved but she had seen Strummer’s true self, and she hadn’t been prepared. She ran out, frightened and telling Strummer to stay away from her. Unfortunately, Strummer had not yet had the opportunity to explain. Now, it might be too late. Ben feels horrible for his friend. He had thought she had already told her. But as bad as that was, Claire told them they had another problem. The creature that Grim had escaped from had reverted back to its human form. A young man. Perhaps the one in Rainsford’s picture?
Thoughts
How typical that just when you think things are going your way, a monkey-wrench is thrown into the machinery. Poor Strummer probably thought she would be able to tell Carly about her unusual circumstances when the time was right. Unfortunately, the time WAS never right, and it got sprung on her at the same time as being attacked by a monster. Truth is, there would have been no good time to spring all of THAT on her. Will she be able to cope after she has digested all she has seen? Time will tell.
It’s probably par for the course that she is once again entangled with Rainsford Black. That situation will get even more complicated if the young man laying on her floor in pieces is indeed Cambion Black. That will mean you now have a pissed off mother looking for you. Not to mention the mystery of who sent the initial book in the first place. Great way to break in a new intern. On the plus side, Claire didn’t seem that disturbed by what went down in Strummer’s house. I guess as a half-demon, you’ve seen some things.
The creative team of Palicki and Cavalcanti have once again laid out the foundation of an interesting, macabre tale that just oozes a mix of Sherlock Holmes with The Night Stalker. Except the detectives in this case are just as dangerous as their prey. It also once again serves to vindicate the use of Wendell Cavalcanti’s superb black and white tones. It works on so many levels, capturing what happens when you cannot seem to stop running into monsters. A perfect counterpoint to the vibrant covers of the talented Liana Kangas.
Ahoy Comics Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart, Issue 2 by Eric Palicki, Wendell Cavalcanti and Rob Steen drops on July 17th and can be found where all great comic books are sold.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
