Titan Comics 2016
Written by Jerry Frissen
Illustrated by Peter Snejbjerg
Coloured by Delphine Rieu
Translated by Edward Gauvin
Oh my stars and garters this is a modern day War of the World’s story. It’s so hard in this day and age to take something so familiar and put such a distinctly unique spin on it so that it becomes completely new and original. Yet that’s exactly what Jerry has done here and i’m beyond thrilled by this! There’s a freshness and a sense of excitement that is infectious and as you read this with each page you become more involved and invested.
This story well takes place in a like a few months, These seemingly ancient Sarcophagi have been found around the world and man has built a base on the Moon where they exist as well. It’s on the moon that an accident happens and it’s our first look at what’s in store. I really liked this as it’s wordless so you really have to rely upon what Peter is doing with the visuals to tell the story and it’s rather effective.
Meanwhile on Earth a man wakes up, also nicely done barren room, naked and mysterious. Who he is and what he’s about well that’s something we don’t really know at this stage but it’s obvious he’s important and throughout the issue he remains this wonderful mystery but you can correlate why he woke up as he did as things go on.
Then there’s Adesh and he’s someone who begins to understand the truth about these sarcophagi and wants to warn people. While he’s unaware of what happened on the Moon Base it’s all related and it becomes a race against time for what he thinks is going to happen. In an attempt to warn the President of the United States he’s arrested so as not to cause panic and of course because the President is kind of an ass and is more concerned with his legacy, hmm sound unreal?
Peter’s interiors with colouring from Delphine are superb! The attention to detail here is fantastic and the use of backgrounds really help to give you that tone, feel and sense of where in the world the characters are. The characters themselves are wonderful examples of people, everyday average folks and that’s a huge deal to me. The use of page layouts with their angles and perspective are utilised perfectly. Plus the imagination and creativity on display is showcased in some marvelous ways.
So as different characters are introduced there are a slew of questions that arise along with them. It’s a wonderfully crafted story whose pacing is impeccable and just grabs your interest from the get go and doesn’t let it go. There’s nothing about this that is too far reaching in its believability and credibility which makes it that much more exciting. Plus that this is truly an international thing and not focused just on one country gives that global aspect which seems to be lacking in a lot of “American” made projects.
The fight for the survival of humanity in the modern age has begun but who’s who and why are they here and what do they want?