Caliber Comics 2017
Written by Massimo Rosi
Illustrated by Paskal Millet
Lettered by Mattia Gentili
Translation by Cristobal Iglesias Torres
Okay so if you aren’t familiar with Massimo Rosi then you really should be after all this is the second first issue I’m reviewing this week. So god, demons, the Vatican and a secret splinter group that’s been around for millennia all come together here to create something interesting, diverse and unique. With this second offering from Massimo I’m getting a better sense of his writing talents which are as unique and diverse as the books he writes. Though one thing remains the same the structure and flow of the book is strong and extremely well done.
The opening page is what’s essential to getting the reader hooked into the story and with Paskal doing the interiors we certainly have that. It’s powerfully rendered so that we have the innate desire to learn more. Then to see some nameless man having a seizure and then getting the opportunity to see what he does while seeing him in his bed well it’s the kind of stuff that makes you scrunch your brow and wonder just what the hell is going on. Once again it’s extremely effective.
The result of that seizure brings the main character of the story to our attention. Through Aaron Teller we see a bloodbath and learn how things went down though not the why. That’s a mystery that still needs to be solved and in order to do so he’s going to have to figure out why Trevor is so important. This also introduces us to where Aaron works and it’s one of those revelations that makes you go hmm okay yeah this is something we’ve all speculated on but never thought it was real.
Then there’s the characterisation here. Now Aaron could’ve only have gone two ways for this to work, the gung ho detective type who is passionate and has something to prove or the crotchety in it for himself and his own reasons that bucks authority and plays it close to the vest. Anything else would’ve been a disservice to the character. Luckily Massimo knew this and chose the latter version and made him slightly older than we expected making it a perfect fit. Plus those that surround him, see work with him and whom he works for are brought to light. It really is a great mix of personalities and dynamics to have thrown at us.
I said earlier that Paskal’s interiors are crucial to the storytelling and I meant that because of the nature of the story it’s got to have that unique perspective to it that can encompass the normal, the paranormal and hell itself. His creativity and imagination are beautifully on display here and has a profound effect on me as a reader. The way page layouts are done and their angles and perspective used show a strong eye for storytelling. The use of backgrounds here have the desired effect of enhancing the moment and expanding the story.
I have to admit that while the Vatican may be behind the Morning Star organisation, in mostly a funding it kind of way, and the Cardinal is technically in charge the agents aren’t a religious group of people. Aaron could care less about religion he’s in this for his own reasons but that this won’t be religious centric even with the subject matter is incredibly well done and surprisingly more interesting for it.
I hadn’t realised that Caliber Comics was back in business and releasing new comics. As a company I have many issues of when it was originally publishing it makes me happy to see they are supporting creators once again with work such as this. Hopefully they can get back into the monthly titles game with series like this one leading the charge. This is a strong book with a great premise, interesting characters and spectacular interior artwork.