Katya and Philip get closer to the whole truth in what is, so far, the best issue of “The Names”.
Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated Leandro Fernandez
While the psychopath known as The Surgeon hunts down brilliant misfit Philip, Katya follows a trail of clues left by her late husband, which leads to Amsterdam and a bizarre sect known as The Tulips. The unlikely partnership of mother and stepson arrive in the heart of the financial district, where it seems that Katya’s late husband is about to speak.
“The Names” is kind of a weird book. It’s weird because I’m still not totally sure if I love it or hate it. I’m at a place where I’m just letting this whole story play out. With that said, “The Names” #3 does a great job at pulling me to the ‘love it’ side. This issue is the first one that feels like the thriller it was marketed as.
“The Names” #3 picks up right where issue two ended; the Surgeon has found his way to where Philip lives and is dead set on catching him. Unfortunately for him, we see extremely early on that Philip isn’t there – he’s on the run. The Names wants him, but their goal is really to get Katya; she’s the dangerous one. Elsewhere, Katya stumbles into a pretty big development for the story as a whole. The last page promises even more answers to come next month about Katya’s husband and just what he was really into.
There’s a lot that works here, and contributes to why I’m falling on the more positive scale of this series. First off, there’s development of the Surgeon. Villains can be just bad guys but there’s always got to be something else to them. We need a reason to dislike them and maybe even a reason to sympathize. While we don’t get a ton of development we get a little something that matters enough. It’s interesting how Peter Milligan frames it too. What backstory we get about the Surgeon is done though other characters so to an extent it could be unreliable. Given that it’s members of the Names that are telling us about him means we might not be able to totally trust what they say. Of course, it’s quite possible that I’m over analyzing this; but in a story built upon lies, deceit, and a shady organization similar to the Illuminati, I think anything is possible. The Surgeon is by no means a hero, but there is quite possibly something else to him – he may turn out to be victim as well.
The relationship between Philip and Katya is, on the surface, a little strange, but I think it’s being done is a really honest way. Philip is, for the most part, not like normal young men his age, except in this one regard and, even then, only to an extent. I think there’s a fine line to ride with this attraction he has to Katya. He’s attracted to her, and it makes sense, since she is much closer to his age than to his father. He’s never done anything to act on this, and I don’t think he will. That age is a very weird time, sexually, so while it may seem weird that he’s attracted to her, remember that this isn’t his mother, and their relationship has never been a mother/son kind of thing; in fact, they don’t really like each other as people all that much. With that said, I do hope that Milligan begins to stray away from this plot a bit. If it keeps being a thing, I think Philip will lose a lot of his appeal as a character, despite the very cool way his brain works.
As I mentioned earlier, this issue of “The Names” finally made the book feel like the thriller it was marketed as; I devoured this book. It was truly a page turner because there were multiple plot points being looked at. You had Philip’s arc, Katya’s arc, the Surgeon’s arc, and the Names’ arc. They aren’t that independent from each other, but the breaks gave the book a different feel than the first two issues. There’s suspense created this way. The tease on the last page alone guarantees that I will pick up issue four.
Continued belowAs much as I like this story, Leandro Fernandez’ art is not growing on me as much as I’d like. His talent is there – and it’s great – but I don’t know if it fits this story. At times, there’s this gritty look to it all that works with what’s happening. Yet at other times, I find myself wanting to see something a little more glamorous. It’s almost too dark and dreary. There’s also issues with how some of the people look; at times they look like typical comic book folks, but then there are other times where they are rendered hyper stylized. I usually like that kind of thing, but it doesn’t always make sense in “The Names”. There are moments where someone from the Names or the Surgeon will look monstrous, which can work if there was context. If it was Phillip looking at them and seeing them that way, then I would enjoy that. Instead it’s very inconsistent and leaves me a little confused.
“The Names” #3 is a solid chapter of this saga and in regards to the story does a lot to push me over to the side of loving it. Vertigo hasn’t been the powerhouse they once were but “The Names” is a positive step forward.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Things are starting to get very exciting. Jump in before you miss out.
