Dynamite Diva - The Engine Whispers by Jasper Jubenvill

Summary

“Buxom bombshell Dynamite Diva is thrust into a chase for a psychosexual killer cab driver after a friend of hers is murdered. Detectives work to unravel the case as bodies continue to pile up, and the disturbing truth is revealed one car chase at a time. Sadness, rage, and ecstasy are all wrapped into one twisted tale.” (Back cover summary)

Around the book

This is an advance review, I would like to thank Jasper for agreeing to let me read this book in advance and thus enabling me to write out this review.

Jasper Jubenvill is a young artist hailing from expensive Vancouver city, British Columbia. They quickly attracted a lot of attention in the underground scene with their signature character, Dynamite Diva. Femme fatale, belle damsel, the Diva has had numerous iconic adventures in the past few years.

The Engine Whispers is her latest story and Jasper has been dedicating the better part of the last 2 years to this book. Even as the preorder was running in late April, the author was still hard at work adding content, revising sections, augmenting the value of their artistic output. Therefore, this book is more than just another story to peruse, it's a rendez-vous with a career landmark.

On the book

Since the book is not in anyone's hand at the moment, we'll go light on spoilers. It's a book that ought to be enjoyed by everyone on due time, but we'll still explore some of the themes found therein.

The book opens on Diva enjoying her night at the Still Life bar. There, she saves Bianca from her possessive ex-boyfriend, who's unable to let go. In this very brief introduction, we're already presented with a brash, courageous and confrontational Diva.

Diva comforts Bianca and they begin falling for eachother. Little do they know, plans from beyond the grave are already in play and will affect their lives forever.

Merlin, a lonely and freaky cab driver, has some weird kinks, inherited from their troubling childhood. We learn early on that Merlin had a dog called Balthazar and that this pup had a lot of influence over Merlin. But tonight, after having tried to murder his wife, Lulu, he's driving his cab, prowling the streets for an outlet.

As Diva and Bianca go their separate ways, the latter jumps in Merlin's cab, a great misfortune that will ignite this book's entire plot.

The relationship between Merlin and Balthazar, who is actually one of Satan's top commanding officers possessing the family dog (but later on posàssessing the cab's engine, hence the "engine whispers"), is troubling. Merlin is a kid with some serious developmental issues and fails to get the support he would need from his parents. His dad is an anti-commie coocoo and his mom is abusive towards him.

Balthazar, a literal demon, is the only creature supporting young Merlin, though he actually feigns to care about him and is only looking at manipulating him to achieve his devious schemes. Unable to see right from wrong and chastised by everyone around him, Balthazar is the only person Merlin can turn to to hear some comforting words.

Merlin's and Diva's paths will cross, as Merlin's sacrifices to Balthazar affect Diva on a very personal level, forcing her to look deep within herself for some rage to fuel her revenge.

As the murder spree endures, investigators are called to the scene. That's officer Abbott and Ms Song.

Abbott is a jaded police officer more concerned with preserving his prejudices than with justice. At numerous points during the story, Song will try to disculpate Diva and build a suspect profile, but Abbott wants to pin everything on Diva because of her sexual preferences.

From his point of view, her sexual openness predisposes her to extreme behaviors, including murder. But to a hammer, everything is a nail, and there's no argument that could convince him otherwise. Song is not without fault either: while she initially discards Diva as a suspect due to the lack of proof, she will soon feel highly attracted to her, clouding her professional judgment.

Artistically speaking, Jasper is outdoing themselves on this one. Each panel is an opportunity for perspective and motion to flow through. Often, two parallel events will be occuring simultaneously on the same set of pages, to increase the tension, the thrill and the excitement. The hallucinations sequences and the chase sequences are masterful and the ending is touching. Each time a murder is committed, it has meaning, an impact on Diva's life and outlook on her own actions and their consequences.

This is a very special book and I have the distinct impression that it can only get better from there. If you haven't had a chance to pick a copy in the initial pre order period, a reprint will soon be available through the author.