Ruse #2

Mark Waid's witty Victorian-tinged mystery series returns with issue #2, featuring a cover by Butch Guice and Mike Perkins that sets a perfectly moody tone — a cloaked, scythe-wielding figure looms beneath a full moon above a sharp-jawed detective and his sharp-eyed female partner, who regards the world with equal wariness. The tagline says it all: "He's the World's Greatest Detective. She's even better." Inside, Mirco Pierfederici handles both the art and colors, promising the same polished, atmospheric look that makes this CrossGen revival feel right at home in 2011.