Iron Empires Volume 2: Shevas War

Iron Empires

by Christopher Moeller

The Iron Eight weary nations, spanning three million light years of the Milky Way Galaxy. They are the withering remains of a human civilization once immeasurably vast. Their dying has not been quiet. Sheva's War, the second in the series of Christopher Moeller's acclaimed Iron Empires graphic novels, propels us further into a distant future, into a turbulent age of war, terror, and corruption. You will follow a beautiful, but hardened, soldier on her campaign to repel an alien menace, as she faces a bitter struggle against insuperable odds.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2004

About the author

Christopher Moeller is an American writer and painter, specializing in fully painted graphic novels. Moeller's signature creation is the Iron Empires science-fiction universe, comprising three main fully painted graphic novels Faith Conquers, Sheva's War and Void. In 2006, an Iron Empires role-playing game was published, called Burning Empires.

His professional debut was in 1991, writing and painting Innovation Comic's Rocketman: King of the Rocketmen. This was followed by a run on the adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, also from Innovation, for which he provided artwork and a number of cover illustrations.

Moeller moved to Dark Horse Comics in 1994, writing and painting the first of his Iron Empires graphic novels, Faith Conquers, as well as the short story "The Passage" in Dark Horse Presents #79-81. He illustrated Andrew Vachss' short story "Treatment", included in Vachss' 2002 graphics-adapted collection Hard Looks. He also illustrated covers for both James Bond and Star Wars, as well as an extended series of covers for the Vertigo monthly title Lucifer.

In 1998, Moeller wrote and painted his second Iron Empires graphic novel, Sheva's War, for the short-lived Science Fiction imprint of DC Comics, Helix. That was followed by a run of covers for DC's Batman monthly comic book Shadow of the Bat. In 2000, he wrote and painted the graphic novel JLA: A League of One and followed with JLA Classified: Cold Steel in 2005. In 2013, Moeller successfully crowdfunded the publication of Iron Empires: Void, his third graphic novel in the series.

He currently lives in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second story set in the Iron Empires universe. I found this story to be better written than the first one, not that the first one was bad, it's just that the creator of the comic shows his improvement as a writer. I actually preferred the artwork from the first one, but that was mainly because it featured more pictures of vehicles and starships and I really like the artists talents in those areas.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as much as Volume 1. In general, it doesn't strike me as a series that I'll follow, largely because there doesn't seem to be any continuity between volumes except that they're all set in the same universe. Again, this one had excellent art, and some intriguing ideas, but I found the main character rather obnoxious and unsympathetic.

[nooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story with awesome art. Could have done without the sex, even though it was an important part of the main character's personal arc, just didn't care for it. I really wanted more great stories in this universe and I got it!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Sheva's War, Moeller shows us a more direct confrontation with the Vaylen. In this case, "direct" might be misleading, since the Vaylen choose to use subterfuge and manipulation at the highest levels of power, and infiltration and genetic manipulation at the lowest. Both these elements are present in Sheva's War, but in contrast to Faith Conquers, we get to see ground engagements between humans and the genetically engineered war creatures the Vaylen have been seeding in Taramai.

Ahmi Sheva is the fulcrum of this stand alone Iron Empire story, and she is a bad ass. I would have liked to see more ass kicking from her, but her development is good nonetheless.

The art, pacing, and writing are top notch, and improved from Faith Conquers. Not that Faith Conquers was less than stellar, but the improvement is noticeable and welcome.

I enjoyed it a lot, and would love to read more about Ahmi Sheva and the war in Taramai.

[Adam Rodgers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheva's war mainly centres around a small fighting unit attempting to defend a rural outpost planet from an invading horde of gentically engineered creatures that are being controlled by an unknown force.

While I haven't read the first volume, I was still able to get quickly up to speed with this story. Moeller skillfuly illustrates and writes a tale that, while clearly part of a larger narrative, manages to hone in on the exeperience of a foot soldier and that of the leader (Sheva) as they battle increasingly impossible odds . His creature designs, though only briefly displayed, conjure up Gieger-esque adversaries that are both frightening and effective.

While the shift in focus from character to character steals some momentum of the story this is an enjoyable sci-fi tale let down only by the occasional clunky dialogue but still held together with its mix of action and intrigue, as Sheva pieces together exactly what is going on.

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid. Alien monster hordes. Vague psychic powers. An unclear antagonist's plan. Poor world scaling, but that's typical of the genre.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An even better story than Faith Conquers. The storytelling in this volume is far smoother, concentrating on just a few characters, and nevertheless conveying the epic sense of the greater conflict. I certainly want to read more stories from the Iron Empires, and the roleplaying game has now made it to my To-Buy list.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so rare to get solid science-fiction in comics that this is a rare treat, especially given the great art. Despite that, it runs a little slow through much of the book, with the occasional bit of emotion that draws you end. The last couple of issues are great though, and leave me wanting to read more.

Overall, an improvement from the previous volume too.

[Petr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great continuation of the Iron Empires story. It is independent of the previous volume thus one can read them independently. Great art once again and the story was now a little more compelling. I loved the designs of the of the armors and not to mention the idea to use artillery in space. This volume has also a little more of a Dune ring to it thanks to the introduction of psychologists.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Faith Conquers, this graphic novel is a favorite of mine. Great art combined with a solid story just breaths further life into a setting that apparently started from the artist's sketchbook.
I can't wait for the next installation for the Iron Empires.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

An improvement in form for Moeller. The story and characters are more compelling this time around, with simple but satisfying character arcs. Iron Empires is just some good old-fashioned science fiction. It's good enough that I find myself wanting to push it into the hands of friends.