Publisher: Cinebook, Ltd.

Release Date: September 16, 2012

Price: $13.95

Creators: Xavier Dorison & Fabien Nury (writers); Christian Rossi (artist)

Format: 56 pages, Full-Color, 8” x 10”, Trade Paperback

ISBN: 978-1-8491-8099-3

Age Rating: 15+

ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

 

This book is an odd cross between Wild, Wild West and Mission: Impossible, with a bit of Challengers of the Unknown and Justice League Dark.  It is set at the turn of the 20th century, giving the artist a chance to show off all kinds of great visuals, but the story is a semi-mystical conspiracy story of murder, suicide and assassination.  The story is grim and dramatic, usually in a good way, but there are scenes which are disturbing, including a Russian roulette sequence.

 

The story is very complex, and like many European graphic albums, this volume is not a complete story, merely the beginning of one.  Some readers will find the characters to be unsympathetic, but readers of series like The Losers may enjoy it.  The danger is that the story is so complex that readers may lose track over time.

 

Several anachronisms pop up, including the distracting acronym created for the title, but the story tries to maintain its older point in time, mostly succeeding.  The characters who seem "too modern" are clearly shown as outcasts in society for being as they are, basically ahead of their times in their attitudes.

 

Primarily for adults, due to the complexity and the "period-piece" nature of the story.

 

--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.