Money

This frenzied and occasionally befuddling series opener from Pires and Casalanguida (New America) spins conspiracy theories about the Illuminati—five filthy-rich families who control world business and politics—into a glittery web of schemers and backstabbers. When Medici patriarch Cosimo dies in a bloody attack during an Illuminati meeting, Paolo Medici inherits command of the family and its secret operations, but his ascendancy is complicated by the intricacies and subterfuges of his father’s life. Alliances shatter, enemies scheme, and Paolo falls in love with the wrong girl: Ming, of the rival Yinling family. Casalanguida’s energetic artwork revels in the story’s sex, violence, and dirty deeds. The script jump cuts through a confusingly large cast of characters—who often don’t get named or placed within a family alliance for pages after they appear. The sweep and action of the narrative is exciting nonetheless, even if readers may need to keep flipping back to each chapter’s opening page, which lays out a who’s-who of characters that appear in the following pages. The comic ends on a cliffhanger—promising the beginning of “the end of the world” but delivering a “wait and see.” Readers will be curious to find out what happens next. (Dec.)