Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #741893 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-24
• Released on: 2008-06-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

Trendy occult detectives star in a surprising hit
Expecting yet another title featuring trendy occult detectives in a modern London setting, Vinyl Underground surprised me by actually being entertaining, well-written and surprisingly clever.

This volume, the first, mainly focuses on introducing the team - an autistic psychic, a D-list celebrity and an 'adult film' star. Despite the grab-bag of adjectives, they are a surprisingly empathetic bunch.

The plot is unremarkable, but served its role in introducing the group well. It was tightly plotted, and interestingly twisted, enough to promise good things good forwards.

My main concern would be the many disturbing premonitions of self-absorbed meta-narrative. Hopefully not every crime in London will have to do with the team's personal history, right. If Spencer can keep this in check, this title could keep readers entertained and surprised for a long time

Entertaining, not essential.
As a music geek and budding comic aficionado, how could I pass up a collection titled "Watching The Detectives" (from My Aim Is True)? Sure, maybe I should have spent an extra 5 minutes flipping through it before buying it, but I didn't. And really, I don't regret it.

First of all, this book feels very "British," not in the sense of using the Queen's, or in Cockney rhyming dialect (which is one of my favorite things about The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game, but in the sense that it feels a lot like John Constantine Hellblazer: Original Sins (John Constantine Hellblazer), only with a lot less horror. How so, you may ask? Well, magic and London, pretty much. I suspect that any comic combining those two will be compared to "Hellblazer."

However, the main reason I picked it up is Phonogram: Rue Britannia, which is also British, also set in London and also deals with magic, yet feels nothing like "Hellblazer," largely because it seems more like a love letter to Britpop. I'm a sucker for that sort of comic.

This first volume of "The Vinyl Underground" falls somewhere between the two - music references for trainspotters who like that sort of thing in their comics, some magical mumbo jumbo for those who like a bit of the fantastic, a cobbled-together crime-fighting squad featuring members who seem carefully tailored to be odd enough to be interesting ... the only other review references "Criminal" which is, to be honest, much better (if you like crime comics), but I don't think that was the goal here (and don't ask me what the goal was - I haven't the foggiest).

I think it's telling that, as I write this review, I keep thinking of other comics that it reminds me of ... and I'd recommend all of them before this. The Originals if you're interested in fashion. The previously mentioned "Phonogram" if you're a music fan. "Hellblazer" if you want magic. And for a quirky, cobbled-together team ... well, there are tons of other places to start.

But back to the subject at hand - "The Vinyl Underground" was engaging. It held my interest. The story was a little fantastic, but what isn't in comics? It wasn't great, but it was entertaining and I'll probably read it at least two or three more times over the next few months. When I'm not reading Planetary Vol. 1: All Over the World and Other Stories again.

Skip this one
Ok, I know it's only $9.99 but this is one of those DC/Vertigo misses that's so bad it makes you hate yourself for buying it. I rarely write amazon reviews, too, but felt this deserved one. I don't want anyone else to be tricked into this one like I was.


I read a lot of decent reviews, introductions to the series in other books, etc, and figured I'd give it a shot thinking it was going to be a super-stylish British "CRIMINAL". Boy, was I mistaken. It's a mess-- too busy trying to win you over being cool to get deep into the gritty crime. As for the tone, its "British" flair seemed so unbelievably fake and forced, as if some kid who'd never been to England wrote how he just thought they'd sound like.

Anyways, skip this if you know what's good for you.