Writer – David Lucarelli
Artist – Henry Ponciano
Letters – HDE

To say life has been challenging for Abigail Moore is putting it lightly but she finally has a path to her dream job, or at least so she hopes as a policewoman. There is a bit of a snag though, as for the moment, she has to settle for being a pretend cop on the Utopia Studios lot. As of late, she has learned to shoot a gun and when last seen, she has now actually shot it thinking she was being followed and with it being nighttime and quiet as anything, it is not outside the realm of possibility. Suffice it to say, it was a false alarm and quite embarrassing, to say the least, so when she has to put an abusive father in his place she feels quite high until she is called to the front office. She gets reamed out by Miss Redwood but in a surprising twist, meets with the head of Utopia Studios, is praised for her actions and gets invited to a party. It is at this moment where author David Lucarelli starts to make things a little more interesting as Abigail’s missing friend Betty returns and spins a tale of drugs and abuse at the hands of a powerful man. Things get even more intriguing when Betty disappears again, but this time it is different as Betty is pregnant and her benefactor may be responsible. With this issue, Tinseltown builds upon what has come before, slowly but surely with every chapter fairly captivating. Lucarelli has crafted a fine character in Abigail, one that readers cannot help but be enamoured with and watching her on her journey has been quite enthralling. Helping to play a part in this is the setting, one where women do not yet have equal rights and have to fight for everything they have. Abigail is doing a tremendous job of it and seeing where she goes next should be just as fascinating, especially given the cliffhanger the book was left on with Betty having gone missing. Henry Ponciano is on pencil duty once more and the man can do no wrong, his lines are continually clean and pleasing to the eye and he makes the book come alive in the best of ways. With a story that is both dramatic and filled with mystery in addition to some great artwork, Tinseltown continues to make for a fantastic read.

3.5 out of 5