The world’s most glamourous and lethal fashion model is back to kick ass in her Jimmy Choo slingbacks.
- SCARLETT COUTURE: THE MUNICH FILE
- Writer/Artist: Des Taylor
- Publisher: Titan Comics
- SC, 128 pages, FC, $17.99
- ISBN: 9781787740945
- On sale April 2, 2024
Thrown right into the action, Scarlett Courture’s second mission – The Munich File sees our beautiful secret agent targeted by a sinister syndicate with plans to create the world’s most powerful criminal empire. But as the mission spirals out of control and the body count starts to ratchet up, Scarlett discovers the ruthless mastermind behind the enterprise has a mysterious connection with both her and her mother a connection that could cost both of them their lives!
Revealing a shocking connection to her past, this second adventure for Scarlett ups the action and intrigue as it expands the world of Scarlett Couture in new and dramatic ways.
Like the best Hollywood blockbuster, Scarlett Couture’s adventure globe-hops across the world from Berlin to London, to the Far East and Cayman Islands as our daring and deadly heroine battles to stop one of the most audacious criminals.
This is one of those books that’s not all that easy to review. It isn’t that I don’t think it’s a good book, because it is! Scarlett Couture is the very best Hollywood blockbuster spy movie that’s yet to be made. No, my concern isn’t on talking down on a book I don’t like or trying to find anything at all to talk about. It’s that, on the off chance that Des Taylor reads this review, I hope that I can do his work justice.
To get the obvious out of the way, let’s talk about Des Taylor, the artist. His work has all the retro elements needed for a great throwback story about espionage and double agents, all crisp and clear lines that would look fantastic in a cutting-edge animation feature. Before I even knew that he was producing comics, I was hooked on Taylor’s work. He’s done all manner of pieces featuring all the classic characters. Whether he’s drawing Wonder Woman, Superman, or Spider-Man, Des Taylor pays tribute by imbuing each with a touch of 70s nostalgia. And that’s the most important piece of the puzzle that is Scarlett Couture, cuz if you’re gonna make a spy comic, why wouldn’t you give it the spirit of an era when spies were the essence of cool?
Here’s where things get interesting because Scarlett Couture isn’t just car chases, shootouts, and pretty pictures. Des Taylor has built up a layered world of spies and counterspies, all around the idea that the very best wouldn’t work for anything as simple as the CIA. That’s for the rubes. Taylor has gone full-on superspy by centering everything on billion-dollar company Chase Couture. From behind that front, Scarlett’s elite team of covert investigators root out the secrets the bad guys thought they had tucked away. It’s everything great about spy movies back in the ’70s & ’80s, all the glitz and glamor wrapped up in a shiny yet nondescript top-secret briefcase.
Fans of action and suspense, readers who are aware that Bond is the worst spy ever (he tells everyone he meets who he is!) but love him anyway, anyone who appreciates and misses the element of fun missing from many of today’s comics… you’re all going to want to check this one out. Des Taylor isn’t nearly well known enough for all that he brings to the table. Tell your local comic shop that you want, you need Scarlett Couture: The Munich Files in your life.
This review will self-destruct in ten seconds…
Final Score: 13/13
