Vinyl Underground

The Vinyl Underground #2

by Si Spencer

Pretty-boy Morrison Shepherd, autistic psychic Callum 'Perv' O'Connor, morgue assistant-cum-internet porn star Leah King and no-nonsense Kim Abiola have cracked their first case and saved Kim's father from jail. But as Morrison begins to unravel, and a series of young female corpses is discovered with apparent connections to William Blake.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2008

About the author

British Writer and editor for both comics and television. Best known in the US for his work at DC/Vertigo.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

how on earth did this book manage a 4.43 avg rating? It really is garbage. I only gave it 2 stars because it had me going at one point (a point which I can no longer recall). It's exploitive (needlessly "disturbing"), frenetic, and is 3rd rate John Constantine at best. The characters are miserable, and are entirely undeveloped. There's the barest of bones of about 2 years' worth of possible storylines in this one book alone, all of which are tied up neatly at the end of this one volume, using Speed Racer-levels of exploitation ("Speed is being followed by the mysterious Racer X! Little does Speed know that Racer X is actually his brother!").
If Si Spencer wrote a history of England, I'd read it (that's how the series is narrated: neat little factoids about London's dark history, attempting to tie them into the scenes and stories within), but I truly hope this series is cancelled. My 2 volumes will be listed on ebay soon for purchase, without this review.

[Jay’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently this is a second volume, but it didn't seem to matter that I hadn't read the first one. Really solid storyline and really beautiful art. I would definitely recommend it, but just a warning that it's pretty graphic.

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 the art is solid but the story is just fine. It feels desperate to be cool and shocking in a way that doesn't feel grounded or lived in. The few surprises are found in just how dark it'll go, which was ultimately refreshing.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final volume of Si Spurrier's, one of the writers for the popular show Eastenders, Vertigo title and it doesn't disappoint. Solid plotting, some character work and a conclusion to the story of London's off-book private investigators/vigilantes. The Underground is composed of an intern at the ME office who supports herself with a sex cam site, a former dj/model/ex-con/, another ex-con who specializes in trapping pedophiles, and the dj's ex girlfriend who's father is a shaman. This time around they're caught up in a military drug experiment, human trafficking, and white supremacists.

[Airiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I'm a paranormal-murder mystery junkie and a sucker for anything related to the grisly side of London, this graphic novel somehow didn't move me in any way. I fail to make a connection with the characters, but this is probably because I never liked any of them. All the trivia, balderdash, and whatnot about London is beyond fascinating, but soon enough they sounded a little stand-off-ish that it kills the vibe the reader is "supposed" to be getting (read: the vibe it is apparently trying to convey but failing). It still has a readable (decent?) story, and I stuck with it to the end. I just needed to see how it ends. So yeah, 3 stars.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read, 08/2026: This series is really just not that good.



This is a slight improvement on the first five issues, but not by a whole lot. The “occult” and “music” elements feel entirely thin, like they were pasted on to a run-of-the-mill detective story to rope in fans of The Invisibles and Phonogram. These opening 12 issues could have been a good foundation for an ongoing series, but when push comes to shove, there really just isn’t a whole lot of substance to sell The Vinyl Underground on its own.

[Andy Hoang · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute junk. Si Spencer writes like a teenager showing off how much he knows about the history of London and William Blake and shows little interest in developing his characters or plot. Ultimately the book goes nowhere, but the author still goes out of his way to try and shock on the way there. It's got sex, it's got death, it's got gunfights, but ultimately you don't end up caring if anyone dies because all the characters are so one dimensional. Utter waste of time

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read graphic novels for a while and although I like to read them, I don't go into depth of pro's and con's regarding the art work ect but the story-line for me was fab.

I loved it. The character break down, the story line made it for me, it was easy to read (some novels are complex in story-lines in attempt to be an amazing read)

I love the twist at the end, I love it!

Great novel, really enjoyed this too!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many Books from DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, this is a fine and thoroughly enjoyable volume right up to the point where the creators realize the publisher's going to sack them. Once that realization sets in the mad scramble to wrap up loose plot threads takes over and makes it pedestrian. This still is an enjoyable wrap up.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned from this book that sometimes conspiracy theorists don't need to find minute patterns to quilt a connection when the whole damned flag itself is waving in the wind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_...

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read. Just as enjoyable as the earlier issues. The irony is cranked up to 11. You're not supposed to like the characters, or think that the plot mechanics are plausible, ok? And it helps to be a closet occult London enthusiast.

[Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like sub Grant Morrison, a sub-Invisibles without the flair, intelligence or inspiration. Not without some maeginal merit, but not that good either.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a lot of potential but didn't deliver.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gimmick overshadows characterisation, and the factoids about London feel shoved in.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

More rock n roll from the VU team