Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Uber #0Uber #0
Avatar Press
Gillen & White

Avatar's latest launch is by Kieron Gillen and Caanan White as the pair retells the waning days of the Third Reich but adds in a horrifying twist. The comic weighs in at a hefty forty plus page count that is both dense and broad as Gillen introduces the problem and several of the characters and wastes no time in getting them in to battle. It's a very promising start.

Basically the Russians are all over Germany. As the Germans scatter in various directions some of the Germans aren't willing to go down so easily. The reader gets glimpses into how the Germans created and continue to tinker with the super soldier concept. They enact their own doomsday scenario as the Russians march on their doorstep.

The book is not for the timid. The comic covers a lot of ground that includes torture, murder, rape and dismemberment. The comic doesn't go just for the shock factor as Gillen defines and establishes a number of characters. Gillen introduces a mix of scientists, regular German soldiers, Russian soldiers and German super soldiers. I must admit it was difficult to tell some of the apart at times but I enjoyed that the comic at least attempted to give us a cast to follow along with throughout the book.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork is in the house style for Avatar. The comic has detailed pencils with definitive line work and the coloring is mostly dark and drab. However, much like other Avatar books, this comic really punctuates the blood with bright and very gory details. This is very much an Avatar signature. The book provides a strong World War II feeling as it captures a lot of how the period is typically depicted in books and movies. The visuals help to round out the comic book nicely.

For four bucks you can't go wrong. You get over forty pages of an entertaining twist tacked on to the end of the European theater in World War II. The book isn't a knock off of Captain America or other super powered beings set during the time period. This is more of the kind of book that highlights the dark regions of mankind's capabilities to harm others. It's a good start to what looks like an interesting series.

3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles