451 Media 2015
Written & Created by Pete & Paul Williams
Adapted by Andi Ewington
Illustrated by Raymund Bermudez
Alright so I’m completely enthralled by this company they could be the best new company of 2015. This time around we’ve got the Williams brothers being adapted Andi and it’s one of those concepts that we see re-emerge time and again and it’s as thrilling each time we see it. However in this incarnation things aren’t going to be familiar like you are used to. Nope this one is much better done than anything else i’ve seen similarly.
Raymund’s interiors are incredible to me. From the opening in Krakow Poland seeing the Star of David, the man being chased and the book he’s holding to the soldier chasing him you know you’re in for a treat. This is Nazi occupation at it’s best and worst. I love that we see this person and the book he has because not only does it really play upon the whole Hitler loved the occult part but it ties in stuff from classic literature into a real world setting making this more an alternate history kind of story. Sure a science fiction/supernatural version but hey that’s what makes it so darn good!
Moving to Befordshire, England little over a year later and we see a naked fella, aw could’ve shown more and made him naturally hairier. He’s kind of key to all this as he is finally captured after we get to see what he is. Ah i’m really liking the way Raymund is able to translate all this to the page visually. With the soldiers and the whole look and feel of what’s happening here and how it’s portrayed you just have to admire it.
So here we get a whole new look at how the armed forces plan on using those people who do not fit into the norm. Alright think Creature Commandos or Fury’s Howling Commandos that is pretty much on point what this whole thing feels like to me. One man putting together a team to stop another threat in the same vein from turning the tides of war into the Axis’ favour.
I like the character introductions and characterization that we get. It’s a clear case of good versus evil in the sense of the World War II setting. Though they may consider themselves monsters they can do so much good for the world. I’m looking forward to seeing some explanations as to how some creators were created and how others fit into this world and seeing how science and magic if you will can play equally important roles. There’s a nice balance happening here between the real and fiction aspects to make this a plausible world.
It’s fun, exciting and interesting to say the least. While this introduction only gives us glimpses into the way these characters fit into things it shows a lot of promise that it’s going to be done a step from what we normally see. Also the black and white interiors do wonders in keeping things mysterious and creepy. Without colour to suggest something specific we get to use our imaginations to fill in the blanks and that’s pretty amazing in itself.
I look forward to seeing them become a unit and how they learned these people/creatures actually existed in the first place. This is an exciting limited series and judging from the first issue it’s gonna a majorly good time.