Abbott is a brief, five-issue series set in 1970s Detroit about journalist Elena Abbott, lone black female reporter at the Detroit Daily. Abbott prefers to delve into the stories the paper’s board would rather not see printed. She’s recently getting heat for her piece on the death of a black teen at the hands of police, but so far she’s been protected by her loyal boss. She has a new case on the horizon and it’s a grisly one. A mutilated police horse is found and the Detroit PD claims the crime stinks of the Black Panthers. As Elena digs deeper and more bodies of all types turn up, she finds the case connects to a culprit closer to home and devastatingly evil: the supernatural killer that took her husband years before. It’s an unbelievable story, even to her friends, but Abbott is willing to risk her job and her life to learn more about the darkness that is claiming life in her city.
A friend recommended this to me and it is fantastic! Abbott is a wonderfully crafted character: a woman engulfed in her work, whose strict routine keeps her steady as she navigates her divided city and the shockingly bizarre loss of her husband. Pieces of her personal story are dropped, tantalizingly scattered as the details of the case she is pursuing. Her most intriguing relationship is with Amelia Chee, a local criminal whose friendship with Abbott skates between personal and professional.
The backstory of the murders and Abbott’s connection to them could probably use a little more fleshing out, and I’d have loved more information on how Abbott made the acquaintance of bizarre hippie/psychic/medium/veilwalker/British? Sebastian, as well as her past relationship with Amelia.
The artwork is wonderful. Sami Kivelä draws expressive faces and specific characters AND a damn creepy animated corpse. The colors by Jason Worde lend authenticity and grittiness to the ’70s setting.
I’m devastated it’s so short a series, but hopeful maybe a follow-up is in the works? The central crimes are resolved in these issues, but the ending is open enough for a sequel. I would also be pretty stoked if it found its way onto the small screen.
