Black Cloak Volume One by Kelly Thompson, art and colors by Meredith McClaren. Image, 2023. Contains. Publisher’s Rating: T+/Teen Plus. #1 – 6.
Black Cloaks are investigators in the “last city in the known world,” Kiros. It’s a place full of magic, neon tech (think Blade Runner), and bright billboards that’s ruled by elves, though there are humans, centaurs, mermaids, and the like, too. The story is a police procedural starring Detectives Essex and Pax, a murder case involving the prince (he’s Essex’s ex (say that three times fast)). At the center of it all is a secret that could be the end of Kiros.
The city is so well designed! McClaren’s art works for me in every way, though I particularly love the way she draws people in the distance, and the way her colors make things glow.
