Titan Comics 2016
Written by George Mann
Illustrated by Tazio Bettin
Coloured by Enrica Eren Angiolini
Lettered by Rob Steen
After a thousand years, violent warp storms have receded from the Calaphrax Cluster, and an ancient battlefront in the war against Chaos has again been opened to the universe.
Now, multiple forces risk complete immolation to attack the sector – drawn by the lure of ancient relics, lost knowledge, and powerful megaweapons, buried for aeons. Chief among those forces, the fearsome Dark Angels, emerald-armored Space Marines, shock-troopers of the Emperor's Imperium and indomitable defenders of humanity. But Chaos stirs in the warp, and the Dark Angels will not be alone for long!
This is my first Warhammer experience. Leave it to the folks at Titan to keep putting out books that tie into other properties that expose me to them for the first time. Had anyone told me it could be related to the Church, the inquisition and thrown into space on a galactic scale I might’ve been on board a long time ago. I mean these folks in Green who in my eyes represent the Church well they are kind of crazy in their singular view of both domination and in having some kind of holy mission.
Throw in Inquisitor Sabbathiel and her plan to have them reveal themselves for what they are and hey i’m all for that. The greatest horrors aren’t committed by so-called monsters but by men in the name of righteousness. There’s also the Iron Warriors who are old enemies of the Green, i’ve decided that’s how i’m referring to them, and a part of the catalyst for this story.
I like the concept behind this story. These Dark Angels, the Green, are heading to this planet that has finally opened up again to cleanse it. This means getting rid of any evidence that would prove they were somehow in the wrong or could be proven to have not been true in their favour. Of course these planets have been out of reach for so long that everyone who learns that they are now approachable again will be heading there for various reasons of their own.
This sets up conflict all around from the planet’s surface and any beings still alive on them to the the factions that hate each other. I like how George not only sets this up but is able to showcase how the Green see this is as their holy mission and can justify their actions. How Sabbathial and her team know of what’s happening and the Iron Warriors lying in wait. Each party is represented nicely and the way we see it all playing out makes sense and is completely new reader friendly.
I like the interiors here Tazio and Enrica do a marvelous job. The attention to detail is extremely nice and the use of page layouts through angles, perspective and the use of backgrounds really help flesh out this world. They mix this idea of armour, space and medieval times together incredibly well and it really captures the imagination.
With a solid premise, good characterisation and amazing interior artwork anyone who has never known what Warhammer is about will find themselves swept up in this and long time fans will love the representation.