Titan Comics 2017
Written by Alex Paknadel & Dan Watters
Illustrated by Jose Holder
Coloured by Marco Lesko
Lettered by Comicraft’s Jimmy Bettancourt
Charlotte de la Cruz—a recent initiate into this shadowy world—is currently lying low. Following a disastrous mission which saw her entire Assassin cell wiped out by a mysterious superior force, the fledgling freedom fighter has begin to question her role within the Brotherhood. Meanwhile, Master Templar Juhani Otso Berg suspects dissent within the Order. Following his research into The Black Cross — a mysterious Templar agent of morality — the former special forces operative has taken up the mantle himself in order to bring stability to the Templar ranks.
I am really enjoying having all these factions under one roof as it were. That the story is told in segments that each have their own way of tying into each other is fantastically done. Also it’s really nice to see how each of the established books can merge into one with new stories and purpose while the characterisation remains strong and true to the individuals. I think Alex and Dan make a very strong writing team based on what i’m seeing here and it’s always a bonus when that happens.
I will say that while I do wholeheartedly believe that Otso Berg is very much a villain and only out for the power and control he can gain he’s still very much an interesting player in all this. His current machinations and what we see of him here is pretty spectacular. His characterisation is spot on so that we question whether we like him or not. He’s that enigma and at times while you know he’s nasty and out for himself we still question why he goes to such lengths like the creation of a new Black Cross in order to fix things.
I’m very much enjoying the interior artwork here. I’m a huge believer and supporter of anyone who uses backgrounds to help flesh out the story visually and what we get throughout is wonderful! Oh plus the Thistle & Crown bravissimo! The utilisation of angles and perspective within the page layouts are extremely well done. The flow of story visually is fantastic and can be easily understood without the words.
I haven’t seen the movie, yet! and i’ve never played the video game but i’m such a huge fan of the franchise because of the comics. They’ve opened up this world and the concept of what it’s about so stunningly that it’s swept through my imagination and left me breathless. Then to see the care and attention to the characters themselves and how they are dealing with the things they experience with such an honesty really takes the storytelling to a whole new level.
This is the kind of storytelling that let’s you get lost in the creators imaginations as well as igniting something in your own. It’s wonderfully done and is the reason we read in the first place, to be taken some place else to get lost in.