Caligula Volume 1

Caligula #1

by David Lapham, Germán Nobile (Illustrator)

In an age of depravity, one man's appetites horrified the entire Roman Empire... the mad emperor, Caligula. When his family was brutally slaughtered by Caligula and his court, Junius travels to Rome to avenge their deaths, but discovers that the emperor cannot be killed, no matter how bloody the wound! Renamed Felix and admitted into Caligula's court as a pet, confidante, lover, and biographer, the young man witnesses the worst depravity and brutality that the ancient world has to virgin blood ceremonies, rigged gladiator fights, and dinner parties where guests are randomly slaughtered. Can Felix maintain his sanity in the face of so much horror and discover the secret behind Caligula's mysterious supernatural power over life and death? The modern master of horror, David Lapham (Crossed Vol. 2: Family Values, Stray Bullets), joins talented painter German Nobile in a descent into the darkest corners of Rome’s history.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read something Christmassy – after all, it's Christmas Eve Eve Eve today. So, what better than a 160 page gorgeously illustrated graphic novel of your basic homoerotic torture porn entitled "Caligula Volume 1" ? Not for me The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, Let it Snow, The Little Dog which Waggled its Tail, The Littlest Reindeer, The Littlest Homeless Person, The Littlest Pole Dancer, The Reindeer who Couldn't Say No Santa – none of those well-loved classics. Christmas Caligula!

You know how if you buy a couple of glass penguins everyone immediately takes you for a person who "collects" penguin stuff and will then buy you penguin cushions, penguin sweaters, The Best of The Penguins, Pingu dvds, Penguin chocolate bars, anything penguin because you are a known penguin collector? Well, it's getting to be like that with me and Caligula. First there was watching the BBC 70s version of I Claudius with the brilliant John Hurt as the mad emperor. Then it was I Claudius the yet more brilliant novel itself. Then it was Suetonius, which is a weird old ride, let me tell you. Then it was Divine Caligula, a crazy book of utter rubbish which I regret bothering with – I knew that one was going to be ridiculous but there's silly fun reads and there's trying to scrape stuff off the sole of your shoe and these are two different things; then it was The Twelve Caesars which I have an especial hate for because I actually thought that was going to be good. Now it's this.

Actually, this is beyond reviewing. It's on some kind of other planet. I don't know where it's coming from. In this version, Caligula is actually a creature with supernatural powers, and Incitatus, the famous horse, is a talking, intelligent, megalomaniac horse. And human souls come in boxes, and it's very important to collect them. These will increase your power!

For fans of outer-edge weirdness, four stars. For normal people : er, avoid! For me, I've no idea. Three stars is a guess.

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once upon a time there was an evil emperor in Rome named Caligula. He did some really bad stuff and died. The End.

This is how the story could have been told but, Dave Lapham felt the need to extend it over 6 borderline-pornographic issues with his own fantastical inserts. Is this tale saturated vice and villainy worth your time? I’ll let you decide.

Unsurprisingly, Lapham’s take on this wack-o emperor well reflects another fictional take on this ribald story. Just like the g*d-awful film, this too takes the raunchiness of the Ancient past and cranks the dial of degeneracy up to somewhere around 11. Taking the most extreme liberties in respect to Historical accuracy – garishness and it’s accompanying excess are favored over something a little more on the realistic side.

Just like the suffocating darkness that dankly illustrates this decidedly semi-historical series – blackish tones do well in their job to enshroud their colors – denuding them of their otherwise brighter appeal. Perfectly matching the wickedness within, this virulently (something of an) anti-chiaroscuro ethos works quite well blanketing not just the wickedness within but, the true progenitor of evil here: Caligula!

Sure enough, enshrouded in the opacity of the netherworld, this perpetrator of all sorts of sinful behavior does all sorts of bad stuff every other page. However – unlike what the title would lead us to believe, this sinister figure is embodied not as the central character but rather as the opposing (foil if you will) force that must be defeated. Not a victory for grace, dignity, or holiness however, it’s vengeance our truly plebian not-hero is seeking after.

With everything that’s said – thick helpings of the fantastical and the murky drive this draconianly quasi-historical tale from Issue #1 to its ultimate finish in Issue #6. Clocking in at about the 100 page mark – Caligula sets out to accomplish the goals its clearly set for itself. Reduplicating the past with an unapologetic length of AHistorical liberties and a smattering of libertinism, Caligula makes for an o.k. read.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disturbing, surreal, and sometimes even funny. Pretty much hits all the right nails on the head for such a tale, almost in the style of those great contemporary Korean thrillers. The artwork is positively beautiful, which just makes what its depicting even creepier.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This one really impressed me. I went into it unsure exactly what to expect, but what I got was better than I thought. This is of course based on the mad emperor of Rome, Caligula, but is supernatural horror rather than anything truly historical (although I think a lot of it is historically accurate.) This volume tries to explain why Caligula was so evil with a "why didn't I think of that" premise. Caligula was possessed by a demon. When I saw him get stabbed in the head and survive, and then his horse spoke, I knew something was up!

The art fit the story extremely well. It's a ridiculously twisted story loaded with violence, but sadly Caligula's true reign was probably just as bad or worse.

If you can deal with some graphic violence and sick scenes, this is a great read for any horror fan.

[Armand · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Robert Graves's Claudius novels or of Suetonius's, Tacitus's, or Cassius Dio's tomes on the lives of those bloodthirsty Roman Emperors and want moar moar moar of the debauchery, depravity, and bloodshed, then this is for you. While it is fictional, it still follows the general outline of the notorious Caligula's life and acts, like the ruinous ride across the floating bridge of Baiae or him cuckolding Rome's illustrious men or dressing up as Venus in public or installing his favorite horse into the Senate. That is, these events tho seemingly unbelievable still follow what established ancient authors wrote about him and his reign, altho their veracity aren't entirely assured.

What astounded me are the refined excesses and tortures the creator of this comic came up with to match the actual emperor's sordid perversions. Here Lapham definitely delivered. I've been on a binge of splatterpunk/transgressive lit lately, but after a while you become inured to the gore no matter how novel it may seem. This one is different tho, as the book offers inventive and more importantly, intelligent pastiches of inhuman cruelty made more piquant through various ruses, like involving the victims' loved ones in the Emperor's predatory games for example.

I have to commend Nobile too for matching Lapham's infernal vision to a T. I love how his art not only illustrates but also supplements the story, providing a nightmarish hothouse atmosphere that drips with opulence, corruption, treachery, and blood. I especially like how expressive his characters are. Caligula exudes an unmistakable aura of privilege and evil, while Junius/Felix's rage, heartache, and debasement is always compelling.

This is one marvelous beast of a story, and I can't help but rate it 8.5/10 or 4 stars out of 5. On to the next volume!

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

m'eh
gore for gore's sake.
We've pretty much all seen the Penthouse Movie... and this wasn't anything like that, but the "feel" of it remains the same with an added "supernatural" twist.

Did not really expect this to be "historically" accurate, but it is so flaggantly and purposefully innacurate, that it may as well be placed in one of those, waddayacallsem, parrallel universes.

So-so story, with art that goes from pretty good to downright amateurish.

Lesson learned: Just because something comes in a glossy hardcover, it don't necessarily make its content all that good.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in two minds about this.

On the one hand it's the most brutal and kinky weird disturbing comic I've ever read. We've got a monsterous demonic rapist horse, we've got rape, murder, bondage, incest, bestiality, more murder, torture, torture murder, murder torture brutal horse sex.

And... they've turned the dial up to 11. But... it's also a genuinely quite chilling and disturbing tale of demons and possession and perversity. And the lead character, as he goes on a journey and loses his soul, it's quite compelling.

And it's reflecting a period of history that... was brutal and kinky and weird. And in being so over the top, I think it sort of captures the mood of Caligula's Rome.

So it either gets 1 star or 4. And I can't decide which.

But it's a story that will stay with me, it had characters I cared about, so.. I'm going with 4.

[RealmsQueen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. An incredibly disturbing look into one of the bloodiest periods of Roman history. I'm not a squeamish person by nature, but some of the stuff in here turned my stomach a little. Definitely not for the faint of heart...

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic is well written despite sometime uses archaic words. The Draws are realistic and sometimes you are afraid to look at.

[Shane Findlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Issues 1-6

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 3.75/5
Like most people, I became aware of David Lapham through his stellar work on the Stray Bullets series. Since then, I've discovered a few of his other works, which were similarly brilliant tales of deceit, death and debauchery. And so, I came upon Caligula. Without a clue to its nature (except for the title being a fairly decent clue), and seeing it was published by Avatar, I knew I just had to give it a shot. So where to bloody start... Caligula is for the discerning comics fan who likes his content more on the mature side. Don't say you weren't warned, but this is one of the bloodiest, most disturbing comics I've had the pleasure (and I do mean pleasure for the most part) of discovering. It also holds the record, 3.18 at the time of writing, of being the lowest scored book I've read on this site. A score that, as you can imagine, it certainly doesn't deserve, given some of the other train wrecks masquerading as books I've had the displeasure of knowing.
A violent reimagining of the life of the, already pretty violent reign of Caligula, Emperor of Rome. My main gripe with this story wasn't the gratuitous violence (how could it be), its choice of protagonist, or its near pornographic nature at times (again, nothing wrong). And it certainly isn't the mesmerising artwork of German Nobile, who somehow manages to exceed the always brilliant work of Jaycen Burrows on covers. No, surprisingly, Lapham is the books weakest point here. His pacing is a tad off, with the book seeming like a snapshot of a few incidents leading to the conclusion, rather than a distinct and flowing narrative. Not only this, but the main justification and actions of the protagonist come across as ludicrously inconsistent, and rather baffling at times. Lapham really fails in my opinion to have me either sympathise or support the main character. Again, his motives seem logical and acceptable in theory, although what then occurs is simply ridiculous. The chosen beats for the story are fine, just Lapham's fumbling execution drags them down. Now, don't get me wrong. There is a lot to like here, and despite the aforementioned flaws, I was more than happy to keep turning the pages (the sublime art helped of course). It's just that violent vanity project aside, this could have been a much more enjoyable read if the main character resonated much greater than he did. Otherwise, as a beautifully drawn and bloody piece of historical fantasy, you could do a hell of a lot worse. 3.75/5


OmniBen.

[Rick Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

David Lapham's reputation in comics largely comes from the masterpiece work that is Stray Bullets, noted for its use of violence and grim atmosphere in more subdued and subtle ways, he is also no stranger to creating schlock. Just a year prior to publishing the monstrosity that is Caligula, Lapham worked on the second volume of Avatar's more renowned series, Crossed. The story of Crossed: Family Values similarly relies on immense shock factors and violent excess to deliver the story, though I found Caligula to be less successful in execution.

The story is centered on Emperor Caligula's depravity seen through the eyes of a humble olive farmer named Junius, who is later nicknamed Felix by Caligula. Felix returns to his home in the rural outskirts of Rome to find his entire family brutally murdered, and learns that his own mother was gang raped and murdered by Caligula and his men. Vowing revenge against the Emperor, Felix travels to Rome to assassinate Caligula. But the story takes a bit of a supernatural twist, and Felix finds himself living in Caligula's walls as a reluctant but mostly willing apprentice to the Emperor. Most of the tale relies heavily on exploitation and excess, with the gore and sexual violence presented in a highly voyeuristic manner. I suppose it's somewhat refreshing to see a publisher cool with this kind of unbridled storytelling, but perhaps some editorial oversight could have kept the story a bit more tight. I'm not one to take shots at the artwork, but I didn't really feel like German Nobile's artwork did much to help the excesses of the script since some of the designs are way too bland to sell the violence. The resulting effect is shock horror that is at times incomprehensible due to the muddiness of the compositions.

I'm a fan of comics that revel in degeneracy from time to time, but Caligula did just not do it for me.

[JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than expected. Lapham has maybe an unfair reputation as an edgelord but he's nowhere near as bad as Millar in that regard because he has some more original ideas. Caligula is an example of this. He fictionalizes the reign of Emperor Caligula but instead transposing that his madness and cruelty was a result of demonic possession and rather than a nickname "Caligula" is the demon. Lapham drops in the idea that Judeo belief is in many ways the real and tangible faith and it's theology and demons exist. With this in place it examines how the reign was not just out of abject cruelty and evil, but was a plan by demonic forces looking to destroy Rome as a mass ritual to birth more evil and pain. Caligula trips in parts due to some weak script writing where in parts it does resemble Millar's scripting and the artwork despite being done by German Noble a painter, it ends up looking like a slightly washed out Jacen Burrows and the facial designs leave room for improvement. It has flair in parts however, the design of the horse Incitatus is brilliant, it is now a demonic steed that is closer to a partner and has some of the better lines in the work and in it's symbology it thrives. A good example is a human Swastika which we as a reader can identify as evil but on a meta level it shows that the ritual was effective because of the present reader's experience, we know the horror that follows that, it presses the idea that hell has always been active and jumps from ruler to ruler not for survival but out of masochistic glee and love for suffering.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novelty of the gross-out factor that is synonymous with Avatar Press has worn off. While this is repulsive, it is no longer shocking. This is based on the supposedly true story of Caligula, but I am not sure if the talking demon horses and soul boxes thing really happened. I enjoyed this, but it wasn't as gripping or disturbing as Crossed, so I won't be sticking with this series. It's really well done and worth a read for sure, I just won't be along for the ride.

[Sergio Alfonso Luengo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muchas de las reseñas negativas parecen haber pensado que iba a leer un ensayo histórico sobre la figura de Calígula. Señores, es un cómic. Alucinado, de argumento sencillo pero efectivo, diálogos más que correctos y con un nivel de salvajismo sólo comparable al Crossed de Garth Ennis. Como entretenimiento, más que recomendable.

[Amanda Majasaari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really brutal and raw - hard to fing that kind of comic. Loved this.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick and twisted horror story set in the Roman Empire. Not for the faint of heart. Give me MORE!

[Jesus Loera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una verdadera brutalidad, cruel y sangriento. NO para cualquier lector de cómics.

[Desollado · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think this is one of the best titles from the editorial.

[Márcio André · Rating 2 out of 5]

Passei um tempão sem ler quadrinhos, li essa desgraça por ser louco. Que leitura desgraçada, que quadrinho perverso e pervertido. Um dos quadrinhos que existe.

[Zeke Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t do graphic novels. Nothing against them, but it’s just not my medium. Never has been, and branching into a new area of media is never a sampling with me. I charge in full steam. I buy the DVD seasons of HBO shows and watch them meticulously. I read an entire series just so the details remain fresh with me. Even with a new genre, I’ll try and tackle the heavyweights, like Steven Erickson when I began with fantasy.

But if there’s a graphic novel that’s going to bring me into the fold, it’s this one. Or at least this subject.

Caligula was a sado-sexual madman with a god complex. He was megalomaniacally insane, and his gore and bloodlust knew no limit. And his crimes were so profane that it shocks public decently to even speak of them. If he were a dictator today in some third world backwater, CNN would be unable to report on it because of the sheer unrestrained vulgarity.

He raped his own sisters (disemboweled one of them after getting her pregnant). He’d rape senators’ wives in front of them. He once sentenced a family to death as public spectacle: when he reached the youngest, a girl of twelve, even the crowd pleaded for mercy, decreeing she was innocent because she was a virgin. Smiling, Caligula told his executioner to rape her first, then kill her.

(He also built a palace for his horse; less profane, but still mad. Disturbing the horse’s sleep was punishable by death.)

These things would be so PG rated in your average novel. I just know the true depravity of it would not be captured. A 1979 film financed by Penthouse remains banned in a number of countries and is one of the only films Roger Ebert walked out of with a zero for a score (I haven’t seen it yet; I plan to).

But a graphic novel, a graphic novel is the medium for this. And this one is graphic. It’s rife with blood and gore and sex – a man is fucked by a horse at one point. And, I suppose I should mention, it’s not for the faint of heart.

The story follows Junius, an olive farmer whose family is raped and slain by Caligula one night in a drunken rampage, as he attempts to get revenge on the imperator. As if there wasn’t enough material to work with, Caligula has certain connections to the demonic underworld, and is not so easily defeated.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. It was a quick read, and delivered the whole way through. Chapter 6, the closing chapter, was perhaps a little quick, but I was much entertained. I’m going to have to come up with an adjusted rating system for graphic novels, but in the meantime I’ll give this one 4 stars, if just for the tits and the blood and the sarcastic devil horse. I hope they comes out with a Volume 2.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a pretty quick read. I had seen this before and I'd read that David Lapham was a good writer so I decided to order it from Avatar Press. This series was filled with lots and lots of gore and flat out depravity. Given the fact that Caligula was known for this kind of thing it only makes sense. It also had disturbing qualtiy as well such as his talking, red eyed horse and how he enjoyed torturing his subjects for his pleasure. This isn't for the faint at heart or for someone who doesn't like bloody horror. The ending got me because I wasn't expecting how it concluded. That also leaves you with a sick feeling in your stomach. A second series is out called Caligual Heart of Rome in single issues but I think I'll wait for the TPB to come out.

[Anna Prejanò · Rating 4 out of 5]

"- Sia chiaro, Felix, sei la mia puttana e il mio apprendista. Ho investito tanto in te e pretendo amore e devozione assoluti. In cambio ti offro la libertà. Libertà dall'ansia. Libertà dalla colpa. Libertà dalla sofferenza. Libertà persino da te stesso.
- Sarò... sarò felice?
- Anche da questo ti offro la libertà."

Se sugli imperatori folli voglio leggere dei libri belli da togliere il fiato mi rileggo Camus e Artaud. Se voglio ripassarmi la storia romana mi rileggo Grant e l'immarcescibile Guido Clemente. Ma senza pudore ammetto che questa storia gore a me è piaciuta. Astenersi se non si ama il genere.

[Mati · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was laying on my bookshelf for quite long time. The Roman Empire was speeding to its end and Emperor Caligula set the sparkle, which would burn it down. His crimes and depravity were depicted in very naturalistic way aka sometimes very disgustingly. The divine emperor killed one olive farmers family and only one member survived Junius later renamed by emperor for his luck and survival skills in to Felix = lucky one. Felix wanted kill murderer of his family but found the real truth abou whole carnage. The dark soul eating thing was to be blamed for all blood. Felix found out, but he was too weak to escape temptation.

[Kris43 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet mother of all things perverted, i feel dirty after reading this!
Its sick and it can leave you dreaming about it for a while. Think I'm just saying that?

How do you feel about flesh eating maggots, grown men being raped by horses (yes i mean that literally!) and making sculptures out of bodies?
Oh i forgot cannibalism! How could I forget that? I blame the general numbing of my brain after witnessing so much violence.

And there are lots of 'normal' monstrosities like rape, murder and the like....

Now you have been warned, proceed at your own risk:)

[Maximilian Surjadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all this is not a book for everybody. Personally I was okay with all the gruesome depiction.

Why did I give it a 5 star? First, it's the story. Quite amazing twist inside it. Set off from a simple young lad seeking revenge plot, but along the line it turns out very intriguing. Second, I love the dialogue and narrator style of story telling. Third, the atmosphere. It was all twisted and mad and dark. Its presence was so strong in the book. The atmosphere it brings just woah.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avatar publishes some pretty messed up stuff, but this is one of the most horrendous comics I've ever read. The whole book plays out like a psychotic's erotic fantasy. I'm very impressed that this kind of stuff can be published with very little uproar from the sensitive critics - in a world where Spider-woman's ass is getting critiqued, this is a refreshing fact.

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s all about gore, vulgarity, sickness of mind. The art compliments the storytelling, varies from panel to panel between superb and bad. I picked the graphic novel because of the historical setting of Rome, was looking for a normal storytelling, what I got was a shock treatment into depravity. Won’t say the plot has much to it but the ending did surprise me.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a deeply disturbing story. Due to the supernatural elements of the story in play here I can't even begin to speak to or guess at the level of historical accuracy of Rome during Caligula's rule as it is presented here. This is very much an adult story however and at no time does Lapham or the artists shy away from showing the reader the ugliness contained in the human heart.

[Gord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lapham is a rising name in horror comics , he's got some messed up stuff conjuring in his head. Caligula is a cool adaptation and does the name justice. Normally I would be bored of "Alan Moorish" forced sex and gore but this is essentially what Caligula is all about.