Dead Romans

Dead Romans #1-6

by Fred Kennedy, Nick Marinkovich (Artist)

Arminius, a Germanic prince raised in Rome, has sworn vengeance against the Empire that butchers his people. He wants to make a queen of the woman he loves, Honoria, a fellow slave. Now fifty thousand Romans will die to give her a throne she never asked for…or wanted.   Lush, beautiful illustrations bring to life a brutal tale of love and war from the birth of the Roman Empire.   Collects Dead Romans #1 - 6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction

168 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2023

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Style points awarded for the art and storytelling choices- it was refreshing to see characters of this time behaving based on what their personal values and motivations informed by the societies they inhabited rather than anachronistic values of individuality and social justice. The Teutoberg Massacre story feels done to death these days (Netflix's Barbarians series covers much of the same ground though in even more soap operatic style) but there's a reason it's a classic and inspirational tale: the German tribes that united to put a halt to the expansion of the Roman Empire in northern Europe, and all the attendant consequences since.

[J.M. (Joe) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is good in some ways, but also so stylized I had trouble picking out the characters. The writing? Not great. The author appears to have done his homework regarding the setting and era, but his story lacks background, substance, drama, character development, and overall depth. The dialogue is just plain boring (although the word balloon style is cool). “Dead Romans” assumes we’re on the Germanic tribes’ side rather than Rome’s, but why? It’s just “Rome is bad” so the Germans must be, what? Good? Not really. Seems like both sides sucked. In fact, I really wanted the protagonist (Arminius) to die. I pretty much wanted all the characters to bite it, to be honest, even the badass female love interest, and I found myself rushing through “Dead Romans” just to be done with it. Sorry, Fred and Nick. It looks like you put a lot of time and artistic value in this series, but it falls well short of the mark. Barely two stars.

[Chris Dech · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being the Roman history fan that I am, I read this on a whim.

And it's not bad, I guess. It's nothing amazing in terms of plot. If you know the story of Teutoberg you know what this is about.

My only real gripe with this story is that it is as predictable as it is. The romance between Honoria and Arminius feels lazy, but the conflict between them is solid if not a little played out. Just another "two lovers torn between different worlds and ideals that can't be reconciled" story.

But the art is great, truly solid visual storytelling.

I'm teetering on a strong 5 light 6.

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little similar to Les aigles de Rome from Marini. Kid from Germanic tribe is taken from his motherland and trained in Roman legion as warrior. During made out mission to help northern province of Roman Empire he plans his revenge and sets trap for 50 000 legionaries.

Art is rough, and pretty chaotic, it's hard to determine who is who and what is happening most of the times. Also at least one page was probably missing original file, so they used some with low resolution where you can clearly see pixel - not cool at all...

Story is average at best, and ending somehow sizzles into nothing. So instead of of climax and tension you get disappointment... 2.5*

[Ville-Markus Nevalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really want to recommend Dead Romans more highly than I actually can. The story premise is interesting, a man stolen from his home country is trained by the Romans only for him to now betray them and avenge what the Romans did to their people, but more than that, the art is breathtaking. The painting styled illustrations make you want to have a poster from every other page whether that is cover art, a splash page or a minor character in the middle of a fight.

And yet.

The story never gets anywhere, it's simplistic and shallow and the characters have little to no depth. Worse than that, the breathtaking illustrations are just hard to read, especially when you try to make out who is talking to who. Both together, you get a frustrating reading experience where you'll stumble upon fantastic few pages with images so vivid and fantastic that you can't but envision a story beyond this, a grim dark fantasy beyond your wildest imagination - and then you'll struggle to make out who is saying what and the words don't really mean too much.

I'd almost hope for a speechless comic as it would allow you to fill in the gaps and free you from trying to make out who is who. However, that is what we do not have and as such, you're left with a frustrating reading experience with glimpses of true beauty.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story a bit thin, beautiful artwork! But as beautiful as it is the characters could use more distinct looks. Yes, the Legionnaires wear uniform, but even with only one black guy and one female character there were instances where it was unclear who's who and who is doing or saying what...

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Visually striking but story was nonexistent

[Jordi Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though the fall of the Roman legions in the Teutoburg forest the year 4 is an historical fact, I think this story is fiction. A good drama driven by well-painted characters who speak and act as If they were performing a Shakespearean tragedy.

Originally published as a 6-issue limited series, they art by Nick Marinkovich is outstanding. The same author colored the first issue, and the final result is very different than the rest of the series, embellished by the colorist Jose Villarrubia. In my opinion, these 5 issues are far better artistically than that first one: the colors of Villarrubia increase the drama and peovide every scene with its own light and beauty. In this sense, I think the series would have benefitted from having Villarrubia in the same issue as well.

Overall a violent, character-driven drama with a beautiful, incredibly colored art, and which conclusion is maybe the weakest part of it all.

[Mik Cope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I had to read this; I've been interested in classical history since visiting the various Roman ruins in and around Manchester (or Mancunia) as a child, and now live near where the decisive battle took place. "Hermann" was turned into a national hero, complete with a huge (and hideous) statue and monument erected in the 19th century in Forest near the town where I live. They even named the local football club, Arminia Bielefeld after this Volksheld. As for the comic: unfortunately, it was never going to live up to its historic source material, though Kennedy gave it a go. But the love story, while meant of course to be symbolic, dragged on and around issue 5 I found I was actually getting bored. Maybe this would have been better as a four-parter. The artwork, while not bad, was a bit unclear so that, especially when the Germans were disguised in Roman armour, it was sometimes hard to tell which character was being shown.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want to give this four stars but I had notes. In terms of production, while the art is incredibly stylized and really fit the dark atmosphere, it did get a bit muddled when it came to a few battle scenes, especially with turncoat Romans fighting loyal ones. The plot itself had some driving factor holes, but that might be on me for not knowing the history.

Having said that, as a blind buy, I enjoyed this story! There's not enough quality historical fiction graphic novels, and of course about the Roman Empire. Honoria is more than her position on a pedestal Ariminus places her on. She has her own agenda, her own power, and is a central figure I would read more of. I appreciate her loyalty, her drive. If only so many in this book wasn't going to meet such a sad fate.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like stuff like this, but this was a bit threadbare as far as story goes. And it wasn't always easy to figure out what was happening in the art. The art's not bad, but when you've got rebel Romans fighting other Romans, you've got to do something to keep the two sides more well-defined. I don't know if there'll be more of this, but I wouldn't mind reading another volume.

[Edward Correa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
El arte es el principal fuerte de este cómic. Aunque la historia es sencilla ya la hemos visto en otras ocasiones. Eso sí, es muy importante destacar el trabajo de documentación y de búsqueda de referencias que los autores tuvieron que llevar para crear esta obra. Vale mucho la pena en ese sentido.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

The next time these authors introduce the German language into their stories, they should consult a dictionary. In the age of the internet, that should no longer be a problem. And they weren't German tribes either, but Germanic tribes. But what can you expect from Americans/Canadians?

[Vladimír · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vizuálne zaujímavé, ale komiks ako celok zráža príbeh. V prvom rade ide o už stokrát spracovanú tému o tom, ako Rimania dostali na prdel od Germánov. Je tam, samozrejme, snaha obzvláštniť to osobnou drámou, no tá vyznieva dosť chaoticky. Nie je to zlý komiks, ale neprináša nič zásadné ani nové.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esperaba más

[Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork with an intriguing story that appears to be well-researched. It's always great to see comics spreading their wings beyond the usual superheroes and science fantasy stuff.

[Peter Melancon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork in this comic is fantastic, the story is fluid it makes you feel like you're watching a movie. Kudos to the writer for doing a bit of research on the Germanian front.

[Darks · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting ride through a period of history I haven’t read about before. Seriously hats off to the illustrator and the colourist, the art carried for sure!

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing , dull (both in story and art), and worst of all boring.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting look and some solid action, but there isn't much to the story or characters.

[Omar Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was okay and I may have enjoyed this more if the art wasn't a bit confusing at times. It was hard to distinguish someone of the character, specifically the Romans.

[FantasyBookNerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead Romans tells the story of the story of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD in which three Roman Legions were destroyed and stopped any expansion by the Roman empire into territories east of the Rhine.

The story gives the viewpoints from both the Romans and the Germanic Tribes perspectives.

Dead Romans was an ok read to be honest. Unfortunately, nothing much really stood out to make it a great comic. The art was ultra stylised, and at times became a bit muddied, especially in the action sequences. However, there were some really good aspects of the art, particularly with the female character where they stayed away from creating a character that was over endowed and disproportionate in order to convey sexuality. Instead, the artist manages to get this across by the use of body language and poses.

Whilst the story was good, it did not really do much in terms of characterisation and depth and due to this seemed to be rather one dimensional.

Dead Romans was an interesting piece of historical fiction, but unfortunately nothing really stood out.