The premise of Velvet is, essentially, “What if Moneypenny was as good a field agent as James Bond?” I wouldn’t be surprised if some variation on that question was what led to the creation of Velvet in the first place. The last issue introduced us to Velvet Templeton, quiet secretary for a group of elite British secret agents, who’s much more than what she seems. She’s brilliant, she’s methodical, and she has a dark, mysterious history. This second issue shows her in action.

In trying to solve one murder, Velvet has been framed for another. She’s surrounded by agents tasked with bringing her in, and she has to make her escape. This escape involves jumping through the glass window of one tall building and into the glass window of the next large building. It also involves stealing both a car and a motorcycle in rapid succession, as well as a few other tricks. No doubt about it, Velvet’s very good.

Of course, we already knew that, or at least suspected it. The ones who didn’t know it were the team sent to bring her in. So, in the aftermath of this botched mission, the leader of the team is shown by his superiors, exactly the kind of woman this quiet secretary used to be. There are no real surprises in the montage of images that follow. It’s obvious from the first issue that she used to be a top field agent. Still, in this issue it’s confirmed, and we get a little bit of a better idea of the kind of person she used to be, before . . . well, we’re not really sure before what, yet. It’s only the second issue. They can’t reveal ALL the mysteries.

This is a fun, action-packed comic that’s pretty entertaining thus far. The story is smart and compelling, the art is well done, the stakes are high, and the action is just over the top enough without being farcical. It’ll be fun to see how things continue to play out.