Rivers of London #1 is a new series written by Ben Aarronovitch and Andrew Cartmel about Peter Grant, a detective working in the special branch of London’s Metropolitan Police as he investigates a murder with supernatural ties. It opens up at the scene of a recent death where the driver seemingly drove off a pier into the water and drowned. Detectives Sahra and Miriam are initially viewing it as a standard case until Peter Grant shows up on the scene. They’re not too happy to see him because they know what it could mean, and they ask him what makes him so sure it’s a supernatural case. He doesn’t tell them how but he had help and was told by the daughter of the Goddess of the River Thames that something was very off about the underwater scene. However he wants to inspect the car for himself so he inspects the victim still in the car, the trunk, under the hood, and doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But since he’s been trained he can still detect a form of magic on the vehicle and he receives images of rituals and items letting him know there’s more here than the naked eye can see. Can Peter Grant get to the bottom of this case or is it just the beginning of something more sinister occurring in the city?

The intro showing the submerged vehicle and then the daughter of Mama Thame emerging from the water was a smooth intro and mysterious enough to make any investigation into the events seem enticing. However, what struck me next and stayed in my mind the most was how diverse the characters were and how simply the story treated that fact. This issue doesn’t get deep into diversity issues but I do applaud the fact that this was done, and I loved it. But I appreciated even more how it wasn’t done as a novelty and the story itself was really good with an intriguing mystery. If you’re not familiar with any of the Rivers of London characters it doesn’t matter because this issue did a good job with character development so it’s easy enough to get a sense of each character at this point. So it was easy to understand that the problem others would have with Peter Grant being involved in a case would be due to the nature of that case and the propensity of it to turn into a treacherous spectacle. But I enjoyed the banter between the characters because that fact wasn’t overdone, and they were all interesting characters. The story progressed rather nicely, and this was the case even with the methodical police work involved in investigating the case. Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel did  a great job in making it interesting, informative and moved the story along. There was some entertaining action this issue although I wanted to see supernatural abilities used slightly more since the taste early in the issue was tantalizing.  The artwork was solid and was able to capture the atmosphere or any given moment. So whether it was Peter and Sahra avoiding danger or facial expressions conveying the appropriate emotion, the artwork only added to the overall engrossing experience. And one thing that seemed certain based off the conclusion of this issue was that things were just getting started, and it should be an enjoyable ride.

SUMMARY

Rivers of London #1 is an entertaining issue that does a wonderful job in building up the mystery and investigation while remaining exciting and interesting. Peter Grant and his support cast are not only diverse but intriguing, and I actually care about the character development in this issue. The story moves forward smoothly although use of supernatural abilities is limited after a certain point. However, I’m looking forward to the next issue and seeing how the story continues to unfold.

Release Date: 7/15/15

Writer: Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel

Artist: Lee Sullivan