Thursday, October 29, 2009

Madame Xanadu #16 - Vertigo

Finally . . Amy Reeder Hadley is back on the pencils this issue. I'm not taking anything away from Michael Wm Kaluta's run . . he's a fantastic artist. But . . this series started out under Amy's, and Matt Wagner's vision. And as the series went along you could definitely see improvement in her work. She's a talented artist that really seems to be coming into her own. So . .I'm just glad to see her back on the title where she got her spotlight. She definitely deserves it. This issue, Nimue, or main character has moved just a little farther ahead into the late 50's. Our story follows a young woman, Betty Reynolds. Her life is normal until one day things start to change. First . . she seems to be having a gravity problem. She can't keep her skirt down, then her hair, and then she floats out of bed. Next she starts going through physical changes. She notices her face looks a bit different. Her naturally blond hair begins to switch to auburn. She's losing weight, gaining height and her bodily features have become more accentuated. Even her finger-nails are growing faster. And they're hard as diamonds. She's 39 years old. How could her body be going through this much change, this late in life, and . . this fast. Finally . . she begins expelling bugs. Bugs seem to be coming from he mouth whenever she opens it. It start out with flies, but then moves on to moths, bees, cicadas, crickets and dragon-flies. It isn't until she starts spitting out cockroaches that she decides to try to seek some help. Doctors can't do anything, and her husband suggests a psychiatrist. Finally her friend Joanie tells her of a friend, also with an unusual problem, that sought an unusual solution. Which leads her to the doorstep of Madame Xanadu. We don't know exactly what's going on here, yet. But Nimue seems genuinely concerned about her new client. 'Why does her case stir such echoes in my heart? Why do these magics bear the scent of . . familiarity?' I have a feeling this has something to do with the good Madame's journey through the DC Universe, but . . I honestly have no idea what, or who Betty could possibly be. This one will be just as much a surprise to me as anyone else. I love the work Matt and Amy are doing here. I can't wait to see where this one goes.

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