Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Trenchcoat Brigade #1 - March 1999

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"Misery, Book 1: Mercy Killer" by John Ney Rieber and John Ridgeway.

The Phantom Stranger and the rest of his "Trenchcoat Brigade" got their own mini-series, and this issue kicks off with some mysterious doings by Mister E, which is noticed by John Constantine.

Just as Constantine gets wind of something bad happening, the Stranger shows up:
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...they eventually reconnoiter with Mister E (who's acting pretty weird), and also meet up with their other member, Dr. Occult.

They then head off to face a mysterious, drunken cossack who seems to have mystical powers:

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...to be continued!

I always liked the idea of the Trenchcoat Brigade, and I had never read this series before, so its been fun enjoying these stories for the first time!


3 comments:

Will K. said...

I liked this mini quite a bit as well, particularly the third (or maybe fourth) issue. Four very fun characters, each with their own unique personality and history, off saving the world from the Lovecraftian horror of the day. This is a grouping of characters that makes sense to me, more than something like the Quintessence or the Sentinels of Magic (bleh).

I wouldn't mind seeing the concept revisited in a new mini-series. Though you could replace Mister E with someone else. He doesn't sit well with me (that's the point of him, of course, but still).

Unknown said...

I remember this coming out and the comic books store I was at not getting enough issues of it. I got this issue and I could have bought #4 but what was the point. So I'm quite interested in seeing what happens here. Thanks again Rob, another comic missing point filled in by you!

Jacob T. Levy said...

The Lovecraftian horror of the day was actually the well-established-in-the-DCU M'Nagalah-- a creation of the Wein-Wrightson Swamp Thing. I always liked that touch on JNR's part-- tying this Vertigo mini, like the original Books of Magic, into the DCU.

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