Titan Comics 2017
Written by Dan Watters
Illustrated by Piotr Kowalski & Ronilson Freire
Coloured by Brad Simpson & Greg Menzie
Lettered & Edited by Jonathan Stevenson
Dive headfirst into the alternate universe of Wolfenstein, a world where the fascist regime won the war thanks to super-advanced killing machines and vicious robot dogs. B.J. Blazkowicz returns to take on the fascists in this new comic, based on the much beloved gaming franchise.
Well we all know that I’m not a gamer so for me this is my exposure to the world of Wolfenstein. What strikes me is that it comes off very much akin to The Keep, which by the way is one of all time favourite books so I’m good with the similarities. The biggest difference is where the Castle known as Wolfenstein comes from and that is rather intriguing and kind of mind boggling stunning in the scope of it’s possibilities. Also that this opens up one way and veers off into something else is done incredibly well. I like the now turning into then tactic to really catch those of us up to who are new to this.
Also if you need it the book does open with a “Story so far...” intro so you can read that as well to catch up. I kind of miss those too because we need more of them as sometimes with either publishing delays or whatnot’s they can come in useful.
There’s got to be more than simply a Third Reich takes over the world situation. I mean this whole thing right from the get go reeks of Supernatural overtones. I kind of get it because the world’s fallen and there’s finally a world government granted it’s a nightmare one, there’s ordinance and the like that shouldn’t exist in this time period. Plus it’s just got that whole kind of vibe from the name downward. Although I will say the way that we see them in the Sanctuary with the whole building log cabin-esque structures the whole air, or feel of it is that for me.
I like the whole Professor and Sanctuary deal it’s a great concept in this world for building a resistance or something like that. Honestly though it wasn’t until the Professor meets that crazy lady that starts talking about B.J. and the past that things get really good. I mean I want the castle, those characters, which ones have infiltrated and which are legitimate fatherland supporters. I want to see how one man, Herr Hartmann, being driven slowly crazy and getting deeper and deeper into this whole affair in ways that are meant to thrill and disturb us.
It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Piotr’s work and the more I see it the more I am awed by what he does. The styles that we see here between the folks at Sanctuary, Herr Hartmann and his forces and of course the Castle itself it all has this look, tone and feel to it that is perfectly suited for each part. Plus the somewhat advanced technology where it mixes with the underwater castle really has that whole creepy magical quality to it that captures the mind and imagination. The ebb and flow of what Piotr does with the interiors is wonderful, though the utilisation of the layouts on the page with their angles, perspective and the attention to the backgrounds immerse fully in this story.
It’s a giant sized first issue, it’s something Titan is doing with a number of their books. Telling the story in two oversized, giant issues. Personally I love it because it’s so well done. Plus I miss the days of 80 or 100 page giant issues that used to come out and give you all that story in one sitting. It’s as close as you can come to reading a graphic novel without it being a graphic novel to begin with. We still get swept up in what we see on these pages and we are most certainly wanting more when we hit the last page.
It fees like this is the beginning of a franchise, an introduction of what we can expect down the road. Ya know kind of establish from the Game and introduce us to a myriad of characters who have different reasons and emotions for doing what they do so that we can keep coming back to see how they grow and evolve. This is everything you need to effectively, creatively and excitingly begin to show us a brand new world of unlimited possibilities. I mean I cannot wait to see the past and how that forged the present we see in the opening.
Time and time again Titan manages to introduce me to a game that I somehow want to end up trying to play. I love the creativity and imagination that we get from this.