Light Brigade

by Peter J. Tomasi

During World War II, a group of American soldiers, led by a Roman centurion in disguise, fight renegade German soldiers who are descendants of fallen angels.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Bande Dessinée, War, Graphic Novels Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Peter J. Tomasi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, such as Batman And Robin; Superman; Super Sons; Batman: Detective Comics; Green Lantern Corps; and Superman/Wonder Woman; as well as Batman: Arkham Knight; Brightest Day; Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors; Nightwing; Black Adam, and many more.

In the course of his staff career at DC Comics, Tomasi served as a group editor and ushered in new eras for Batman, Green Lantern, and the JSA, along with a host of special projects like Kingdom Come.

He is also the author of the creator-owned titles House Of Penance with artist Ian Bertram; Light Brigade with artist Peter Snejbjerg; The Mighty with Keith Champagne and Chris Samnee; and the critically acclaimed epic graphic novel The Bridge: How The Roeblings Connected Brooklyn To New York, illustrated by Sara DuVall and published by Abrams ComicArts.

In 2018 New York Times best-selling author Tomasi received the Inkpot Award for achievement in comics.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent comic really good story

[Alex Sarll]

Opening on a beleaguered US unit in a Belgian forest, December 1944, there are scenes early in this which could almost be a Garth Ennis war comic - not least because Snejberg did draw ‘Dear Billy’ for him. There’s the same readiness to stare at the grim reality of war, but also the balancing awareness that on the ground at least it’s prosecuted by men, not monsters. Except that it soon transpires that in this story there are monsters too – unkillable German troops who turn out to be the Nephilim*, led by the last of the angels who fathered them on mortal women. Now, at first this seemed like Tomasi was playing on another bit of Ennis, the Hellblazer theme whereby angels and demons are pretty much as bad as each other, just two cohorts of wankers treating mortals as pawns. But no, it rapidly becomes apparent that this is a more conventional theodicy: if you’ve ever wondered why bad things happen to good people, turns out that’s the Nephilim, killing the innocent to make others lose their faith! Right. So they’re the ones setting off earthquakes, are they? Did they invent cancer, such as ended the faith of the most sceptical of the American troops? Seems a bit of a stretch, and if so, maybe mention that specifically? Because as is this sounds like just as feeble a justification as every other attempt to make this world fit with the nonsensical concept of an omnipotent, omniscient and all-loving deity. Not least because apparently the only reason the Nephilim and their patriarch have been on this millennia-long rampage is said deity attempting to drown them in the Flood, and the only reason given for that is that he didn’t like the races mixing. And then of course you have to bear in mind that he seems to have killed untold numbers of innocents, yet not even succeeded in eliminating his primary target. So the reason evil exists is ultimately that this god is a racist piece of shit? And also an incompetent fuckwit? Nice save, mate! I mean, on the plus side I suppose it’s no more stupid than any of the official versions, but I despair if the best one can say of a plot is ‘only as idiotic as official christian doctrine’.

*No, not a man with a cowboy hat and a bag of flour.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um comic divertido, com uma premissa curiosa, que mistura a visão mítica da II Guerra com a tradição cristã mais esotérica. Assenta numa técnica narrativa fantástica. Com um ritmo marcado, o argumento de Peter Tomasi oscila entre acção pura e imparável, momentos de infodump e os encadeadores necessários para cimentar o mundo ficcional da série. Tanto toca na mitologia judaico-cristã como nos dramas reais e históricos da guerra, e brindando-nos com mimos como soldados zombies de guerras de antanho a carregar sobre monges armados com bestas. A história desenrola-se no ritmo linear de aventura clássica, com um sentido de propósito e objectivo muito vincado. Crítica completa no aCalopsia: O Esquadrão da Luz.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art was amazing and Peter had some cool set up, with basically angels verse nazi's. However, none of the character really interest me. I wanted to like it more than I did. Sorry for short review, baby crying for food, but this was okay. A 2.5 out of 5. I'll bump it to a 3 for the art alone.

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific story and another reason to look beyond the superhero genre in comics and invest your time and money into some of the lesser known stories!

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your average WWII graphic novel

It's more, and and has more. This is not just allies vs. axis, this is WWII as a battleground for a war of the centuries.

This is a war among angels, of the nephilim, and it ends up being bigger than you can imagine.

Whether you're a fan of war graphic novels, or sagas of angels, or anything else, you should check this out. It's great!

[Jean-christophe Boudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel was one of my most favorite reads of all time, the story was just really well told and the artwork was wonderful in conveying the emotions of whatever was happening in different places in the graphic novel. The color in the artwork is one of the major things that helps to convey the emotions of a scene as I mentioned above, the story deals with one American solider during world war two who is trying to get home to his orphaned son but is suddenly forced to save the world from the last Nephilim and the Girgori who are trying to completely an objective that would put humankind at risk. I would recommend this to anyone who likes historical fiction and fantasy.

[Yoshiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akcja komiksu przenosi nas do roku 1944 w belgijskie lasy. To właśnie tam na zapomnianym przez ludzi i Boga cmentarzu z okresu I Wojny Światowej stacjonuje grupa amerykańskich żołnierzy. Jednostka, której zadaniem jest opóźnienie ataku nieprzyjaciela. Jednym z nich jest szeregowy Chris Stavros. Wojak, którego umysł zaprząta myśl o rodzinie. Dopiero co dowiedział się o śmiertelnym wypadku swojej żony i ciężkim stanie syna. Nic więc dziwnego, że chce on jak najszybciej wrócić do kraju i zająć się swoim dzieckiem. Zanim jednak to nastąpi, trzeba odeprzeć przeciwnika, który na pewno nie da się łatwo pokonać.

Peter J. Tomasi (scenarzysta) początek swojego dzieła kreśli jako „konwencjonalną” historię wojenną. Ukazuje on wycinek frontu, na którym grupa żołnierzy boryka się z wieloma osobistymi problemami. Tęsknota za domem, smutek, strach, złość, odwaga – wszystko to miesza się tutaj w jedną fabularną całość. W momencie, kiedy dochodzi do pierwszego starcia z przeciwnikiem, przed czytelnikiem zaczyna być kreślony zupełnie nowy obraz historii. Zostaje ona coraz bardziej wypełniona okultyzmem i mocno fantastycznymi treściami. Tytułowa Brygada znajdzie się bowiem w samym centrum niezwykłych wydarzeń, których preludium są spadające na Ziemię anioły. Okazuje się, że rozpoczęła się wielka bitwa „dobra i zła”, w której muszą wziąć udział amerykańscy chłopcy. Tylko oni mogą przeciwstawić się nieumarłym nazistom, którzy chcą sprowadzić na świat apokalipsę.

Ogólny koncept fabuły jest więc na swój sposób specyficzny. Potrafi on jednak zaintrygować i co najważniejsze zapewnić odbiorcy solidną dawkę widowiskowej akcji. Autor sprawnie łączy nadprzyrodzone elementy z typowo wojennymi wstawkami, gzie sporą rolę odgrywają ludzkie dramaty. W centralnej części scenariusza osadzono wątek „wiary”. Nadaje to historii nie tylko potrzebnej głębi, ale również skłania czytelnika do pewnych rozważań. Całość dzięki temu czyta się z niekłamaną przyjemnością.

Pewnym zarzutem w stronę fabuły, są jednak „braki” w wyrazistości przedstawionych tutaj postaci. Poza wspomnianym Stavrosem pozostałym bohaterom brakuje charyzmy i należytego zróżnicowania. W wielu scenach stają się oni wręcz statystami biorącymi udział w widowiskowej akcji. Trochę szkoda, bo w pierwszej części komiksu twórca pokazał drzemiący w nich potencjał..........

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel mash-up of war-is-hell WWII-style, the famous Nazi narrative of their obsession with the occult (of any extraction), and the tale of the Roman centurion who pierced the side of Jesus on the cross and was cursed to walk the earth forevermore. All this from Peter J. Tomasi, who took forever to transition from DC editor to DC writer. He's said that he loved editing, being involved in the creative process that way, but...the dude's a truly gifted writer, too, and he's done some of my favorite work in recent years and by that I'm thinking of his New 52 Batman and Robin, which as far as I'm concerned, and with all due apologies to Scott Snyder and his legion of fans, was the definitive Batman material of that era. Tomasi's later Rebirth era Superman literally wouldn't've existed without it. Light Brigade is one of his earlier writing efforts, but it doesn't suffer in any way creatively for it.

If you're into any of the three story threads I mentioned at the start of this review, you'll be rewarded. If you dig all three, you'll really enjoy Light Brigade. It's that simple. And the art of Peter Snejbjerg (best known, possibly, for his stint in James Robinson's Starman, but long overdue for wider recognition and high profile projects) is a perfect complement. Other artists would linger on the gore, but Snejbjberg doesn't, and I always appreciate that. Too many comics seem way too eager to dip into grindhouse film aesthetics, especially these days, sort of putting the truth in the old Wertham claims about the medium. It's not that Tomasi is literally defending a faith that's been under siege for years now, a vision of life that even without that faith is refreshingly positive without being maudlin. It's that he does it in such a straightforward manner. Some readers may be frustrated that he spends little time developing most of the cast of characters, but there's enough to ably sell their involvement and the impact of his storytelling.

Bottom line, if you already love Tomasi's work, you owe it to yourself to read this. If you somehow don't, this is a terrific way to discover his awesome talents.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during WW II, a group of soldiers is recruited by a dying archangel to defend a monastery who is under attack by a rogue group to steal the light of God which is burning eternally from the remnants of the true cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The tale uses quite a few obscure Christian tales from apocrypha and the Bible. Marcus Longinus, the centurion who caused the final wound of Christ on the cross, makes an appearance. The Grigori, angels who were cast from heaven for sleeping with human women, are the antagonists, while the Nephilim, the off-spring of angels and humans are their foot soldiers. All of this material is gone into detail and this backstory provides much-needed depth and suspense to the supernatural aspects of this story and acts as a cohesive bond to the plot.

The book is well paced and action oriented. You get to know the characters, their hopes and dreams, and ultimately their final fates. This is not a graphic novel which plays favorites. Unlike some writers, who have difficulty letting go of their creations. No so here, there is no pulling punches, no spared bullet. The novel is a suspenseful death fight right up until the very end - even though you kind of know who is going to survive.

A lot of credit has to be placed on the artist for the success of this book, but also with the colorist. As much of the material takes place at night, the colorist gave that effect, yet did not diminish our understanding of what was happening. There was a point when the Nephilim first appear, we see the brigade engage them, and it was difficult to see who survived and who died. The material didn’t make it quite clear on which characters survived, and ones I had thought died turned up again. Should’ve taken a page from Joe Kubert who was a master of differentiating soldiers in combat.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. This was a lot more Christian-y than I expected.
Reading the back I thought this would be a straight up Angels vs. Nazis book ("angels" being only vaguely religious-y through a kind of secular lense of heaven and the afterlife), but actually, a main plot-point of this book revolved around Jesus and the crucifixion. Not only was the (crucifixion) cross a major plot point, the Roman Centurion who killed Jesus was a main character. (And I'd go further to argue that Chris Stavros is not the main character here at all. It's really a "group" book and just because Chris Stavros is one of the last survivors against the Nazi nephillim, that does not make him the mc.)

The story was fine, but nothing too exciting. The Jesus stuff was a turn off for me, so I tried to ignore the Christ worship... but/and without the Jesus and Angels stuff, I found this to be an only OK WWII quest book.

The art was pretty, through SUPER gory. Lots of guts and blood & brains.

3 stars.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right in the middle. Story and art are both fine.
So much about religion, it wasn't for me. I appreciate when other cultures touch on Christianity/Catholicism such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, whereas Americans doing it is far too sincere.

Only two of the characters I felt had any character to them. I couldn't identify the others.

Just because the main character had a child meant they could live. So not being a parent invalidates the others. We don't even learn if anyone else has their own family. Just the notes in the casings, but they could be for friends, parents, siblings. Anyway it taught me that it's not okay to be an Orphan.

Give it a go digitally.

[Jeremy Hannaford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a completely random purchase. But after his run with Batman and Robin, Peter Tomasi has proven to be one of my favorite comic book writers. This is a pretty great one-off series about American soldiers fighting against evil Nazi angels. The artwork is great, the maturity of the story is pretty solid, and it has a pretty darn good climax. Was pleasantly surprised with this and would definitely recommend to anyone who's a fan of alternate World War II comic book stories.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Americans, Nazis, and religious relics set amongst WWII. I read this cuz Tomasi helped write it, and I enjoyed enough of it to like it, but it didn't hit as hard as say something like Lake of Fire. Some might consider this sacrilege since it deals with christian faith and relics, as well as Angels with their own agendas, but it makes for a unique skirmish. Very nitty and gritty, but that's war for you.

[Aaron Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an odd little treat. The premise is hilariously brilliant - demons taking cover in the Nazi army, where their agenda generally blends in without raising eyebrows. Tomasi is a great stealth writer - smart and affecting, without ever getting fussy. The war genre suits his taciturn style perfectly. Snejbjerg's art hits the perfect notes, too - handsomely gritty, with stylings of hellish nightmare and the mildly homoerotic. Classy, quality weirdness.

[Joshua Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

You want a great WW2 tale? Look no further. This book has it all, from compelling characters to awesome story lines, with Nazi's and Angels. I know, it's like "What?....." but trust me, Tomasi tells it like no other. Indy Jones and Sgt. Rock vibes combine for a rocking WW2 tale that you will thoroughly enjoy.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tomasi does a good job of getting me invested in the stakes of World War II, and then introduces a supernatural premise that's like, "WWII is small potatoes, so here's a bunch of magic angel battles instead!!" It's distracting, and honestly, kinda disrespectful?

[Reyel2107 · Rating 4 out of 5]

wwII and angels what a great combo !!!!!

[Nickleby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alright good guys vs. bad guys, supernatural, nazi story. Nothing really special. Art was okay.
I’d watch the movie.

[TheWord · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice concise story, good art. Very exciting, very violent.

[Zachary King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indiana Jones meets Sgt. Rock. This ought to be a movie!

[João Teixeira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eu até poderia tolerar a mitologia angelical que o argumento veicula... Eu até poderia dar mais estrelas de classificação pelo ritmo de acção e sentimento de aventura ao acompanharmos as personagens naquela determinada demanda...
O que eu não consigo, infelizmente, tolerar é a história bacoca do soldado que perdeu a fé devido à morte do pai e da mãe
no passado... E o que não consigo tolerar mesmo é a premissa de que Deus existe e que o seu filho encarnou e morreu na cruz.

[Tomás Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Tazitazitazi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ovaj akcijski strip ima izvrsno kadriranje sličica na stranici, a sličice same pričaju priču (što je kvaliteta stripa koju iznimno cijenim) te je dobro koloriran. Mogla bih reči da kvaliteta crteža nadilazi kvalitetu priče koja je dobro opisana na samim koricama: ''U nebu se vodi borba, a zemlja je borilište''. Osobito su mi se dopale tipično američke dosjetke riječima kakvima obiluje film ''Prljavi igraju prljavo'' ili u originalu ''The last boy scout''. Obzirom da priča nudi alternativnu/paralelnu povijest mogu još napomenuti da je cijeli strip znatno bolji od serijala ''Tajna povijest'' (L'Histoire Secrète, Tome 1 : Genèse) koji sam nedavno pročitala.
U svakom slučaju preporučam ljubiteljima stripa.

[Sheika Burgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an unexpected success in my eyes. I don't usually find myself reading comics or graphic novels. I initially turned the first page after having this loaned book sit in my bookshelf for about a year. My reason for cracking it open was to find inspiration for a special effects project. I had no idea I was going to enjoy this so much. The connection between the author's dedication and the main character's letter in the foxhole created an eerie sense of realism. After the foxhole scene I couldn't put it down. The characters were hard to distinguish at first, but after hearing the names repeated so much I got familiar. There were a few moments in the end that got me a little teary. Overall, a good read. In fact, I may just hold on to it for another year.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. In the right hands, the concept (angels direct a group of WWII soldiers to fight off a fallen angel who, with the help of some Nephilim, wants to steal the sword of heaven) could have been amazing. As it was, it was okay enough to read to pass the time, but I'm really glad I got it out of the library rather than buying it myself.

One thing that really bothered me: what group of soldiers would voluntarily name themselves "The Light Brigade"? I can't see that happening.

[Printable Tire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story probably wouldn't hold up to a critical eye but I myself found it exciting and enthralling. The artist has a real talent at giving people these impending doom/in awe of horror eyes. My only complaints are how dualistic the good v evil line was (the villains are essentially the classical paranoiac Enemy) and how all the GIs looks alike, making it very difficult at times to tell characters apart. But I think both these flaws are somewhat intentional. Would make a popular gore movie.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fan of war comics, gore, or religious fiction. I am a fan of good storytelling, and this is it. Classic good vs. evil.

I have to agree with other reviewers... sometimes it was hard to tell the characters apart, and the good guys from the bad. That's my only beef with the art, however. Otherwise it was great and helped propel the story forward. There are a couple of panels where the facial expressions speak volumes.

A good read.

[Zed Yeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the dialogue was poetic. The characters were memorable, despite how short the book was. Panelling was fantastic, and the artist makes good use of shadows.

Premise is nothing new, but it's nicely executed and the title, well it certainly gets you charged!

I'd say, charge on, read the light brigade. Best new comic I've read this year.
(Friend just pointed out it's published in 2005, so it's not new, but it's still great!)