I find I'm a bit torn when it comes to this book. Austen comes through and provides what I'm looking for: a down-to-earth portrayal of the job and the personality of an EMS worker. He accomplished the same for firefighters on The Call of Duty: The Brotherhood. But other aspects of the book didn't sit well with me, chief among them the far-too connected nature of all of the Call of Duty titles. Still, this is, overall, a story with a strong sense of realism and believable characterization.
Jennifer Montez is an emergency medical service worker who enjoys her job. She gets to help people, and she enjoys working with her partner, despite his repeated come-ons. Still, she's frustrated that she's always rebuking just about every guy she comes into contact with. A seemingly routine call involving a drug shooting ends up being something far more volatile, though, and she and two others catch another glimpse of the ghostly little girl who warns of a coming crisis.
Zezelj establishes a stark, serious mood right away, and combined with the eerie and muted colors, it reinforces the slight hint of the supernatural that's a part of the story as well. I've enjoyed Zezelj's work on a number of occasions, and I'm always surprised at how his thick, blockish style manages to nevertheless convey a woman's soft beauty. The artist also captures the gray, dirty nature of the urban environment in which the story is set.
My biggest problem with this book -- and the Call of Duty line of limited series as a whole -- is how connected they all are. The ghost girl's story isn't being told in just one of the books. Marvel seems to be requiring the readers to follow all three limited series, and not only does it seem like a money grab, but it makes for scattered storytelling. That accessibility problem is the line's biggest liability.
Ultimately, though, this was a solid read. Austen really takes the reader inside Jennifer's head. I have a strong sense of who she is, and Austen also provides a realistic look at her job. He doesn't sugar-coat it or paint EMS workers as heroes, paragons of virtue. They're just average people doing a job that's far from average.
