Regular readers will know that I love the pulps, and a lot of pulp inspired stuff. Movies like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Raiders of the Lost Ark; comics like The Rocketeer and Hellboy; and of course adaptations of the originals, like Doc Savage, The Shadow, and the like. I also enjoy a good referential, alternate history story, like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. So, The Chimera Brigade is right up my alley. Set in an alternate 1938, where Europe was profoundly changed by the arrival of what seem to be superheroes and villains after the Great War. Across the Continent, forces are gathering, spies are spying, and trouble is brewing.
Though the book in no way feels like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, that is the most obvious reference when comparing it to something else. But instead of characters out of Victorian adventure novels, it features a different array of references (from Zamyatin’s We to Orwell’s Big Brother to Meyrink’s Golem), and a very different plot. I like the setting a lot and am very curious where the plot is going to take the various characters that have been introduced. The art isn’t amazing, but it’s not bad. Though not as good, in my opinion, it often reminds me of Mignola’s work on Hellboy.
Doing a quick bit of research, I found that this is the first of six volumes. I’m glad that it’s a story that has been completed. But not I’ve got to wait for it to get translated from the French and published Stateside, which sadly, might take a while. Because it is only the first of six volumes, this serves primarily as an introduction to the world and to the players, with only hints at the overall story. It has my attention; hopefully it can hold on to it for however long it takes to get the whole thing out.
The Chimera Brigade: Book One
Authors: Serge Lehman & Fabrice Colin
Artist: Gess
Publisher: Titan Comics
ISBN: 978-1-782-76099-3
-Matthew J. Constantine
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