I just finished my preview of Veil, the comic Greg Rucka (writer who has written everything – if you don’t know him, I refer you to Google – he’s kind of a big deal) with art by Tony Fejzula.  Anyway, this comic got me thinking, and I’ll tell you about what.

So, the premise (No real spoilers; this is what the summary says everywhere.) is that this chick wakes up all naked and stuff in a subway station and meets some bad guys and a good guy.  Good guy takes her home for some clothes, food, gazing, whatever.  Enter bad guys, and stuff progresses from there.

Is this new?  NO.  It’s not new at all.  We saw it way back in Terminator, Terminator 2, Terminator ad nauseum. We’ve seen it in The Fifth Element.  Hell, we saw it in Superman when a baby was discovered by the Kents.  So, what is it about these stories that we (Yes, “We,” because you know you love this, too.) are so infatuated by?

My theory?  I think it all comes down to second chances.  As a reader, the idea that an innocent from somewhere far away could get thrown into our society where clearly they’ll be a victim– Oh snap, they’re always so bada–.  They’re never victims for more than 3 frames, and then Neo says, “I know King Fu,” Leelu figures out how to read the entire martial history of mankind, and the T100 punches a guy’s spine through his stomach (my personal favorite).  So, why do we like that?  Because damn, wouldn’t it be awesome to wake up on an Earth where you were incredibly hot and bada–?   Wouldn’t it be cool to be the thoughtful guy who finds said naked chick and becomes the Bruce Willis of this story?  Yeah.  Yeah, it would.

So, now you know the comic’s premise.  I think that our boy Greg has several tricks up his sleeves in future issues, so it won’t be just like Fifth Element.  Instead, it’ll be his unique (and likely) great journey . . .  and Tony Fejzula’s art is truly off the hook.  The cover and opening page were (not making this up) good enough that I stopped reading, called over to non-comic-interested girls to look at it, and then continued reading.  For the record, they were impressed.  So, you’ve got a story that you’re hard-wired to love, art that is incredible, and a writer who is one of the more talented on the planet.

What I’m saying is that if you’re not a complete dumba–, you need to read this comic.