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Pestilence
Pestilence, Vol. 1
It’s the late 14th Century, and a Great Pestilence—the “Black Death”— is sweeping across Europe, killing over 100 million people. BUT, what if history as we know it was a lie? What if, in reality, this was no straightforward plague, but the FIRST non-recorded Zombie Infestation of man? Ex-Crusader Roderick Helms and his fellow “black ops” agents the Church, Fiat Lux, must seek out the cause of this undead outbreak and vanquish it before mankind ceases to exist!
Written by the master of violence, gore, and mayhem, Frank Tieri (Marvel vs Capcom, Wolverine, Deadpool), with spectacular art from Disney illustrator, Oleg Okunev, and covers by Eisner Award-nominated artist Tim Bradstreet (The Punisher, Hellblzer)!
Written by the master of violence, gore, and mayhem, Frank Tieri (Marvel vs Capcom, Wolverine, Deadpool), with spectacular art from Disney illustrator, Oleg Okunev, and covers by Eisner Award-nominated artist Tim Bradstreet (The Punisher, Hellblzer)!
144 pages, Paperback
Published January 30, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
April 30, 2024
A group of 007(ish) ex-Crusaders tries to save the Pope from the zombie apocalypse.
What if the Black Plague wasn't something that killed thousands and spread by rats?
What if what really happened was ZOMBIES and the Catholic Church just covered it up?
Why?
Because that whole coming back from the dead thing would supposedly ruin business for them.
Yes, you're right. That is a silly premise, but it piqued my interest anyway.
And to be honest, as far as medieval zombie stores go, this one wasn't actually all that bad.
I'd read another volume of this if I got the chance.
What if the Black Plague wasn't something that killed thousands and spread by rats?
What if what really happened was ZOMBIES and the Catholic Church just covered it up?
Why?
Because that whole coming back from the dead thing would supposedly ruin business for them.
Yes, you're right. That is a silly premise, but it piqued my interest anyway.
And to be honest, as far as medieval zombie stores go, this one wasn't actually all that bad.
I'd read another volume of this if I got the chance.
September 24, 2019
Probably I appreciated this medieval nightmare zombie apocalypse tale far more than it deserved, but storyline and cartoonish artworks were good ones for me, characters something out from a clichè-fest but well fleshed ones, and the over the top violence, gore, sex and profanity, made this book an unexpected breath of fresh air from my usual american comics read.
Can't recommend it to everyone, ending was rushed and some twists were just very predictable ones, but this comic book was entertaining for me and Tim Bradstreet's amazing atmospheric covers rised final vote from ☆☆☆ 1/2 to full ☆☆☆☆.
February 26, 2018
A zombie plague in the Middle ages during the time of the black plague? Yes, please! The book started off very strong. However, the pacing was off in the last couple of issues. It felt very crammed together and rushed. The end wraps up things a little too neatly for me and felt like something of a cop out. The book is extremely crude, so be warned the language is rough! I loved the art. It reminded me of Hubert Ramos kinetic art.
April 23, 2018
I received a free copy of this from NetGalley.
In the story, a zombie outbreak was the real cause of the Black Death. But these are not regular zombies, they are smart-ass zombies that can ambush, retreat, reorganize and hunt you down. Lucky for us we have the men of the Fiat Lux, the assassin's arm of the Church, to help us fight those hungry bastards.
I liked the art and the premise. Also, know that it's very explicit. I lost interest half the way between issues 3 and 4. I'd be lying if I say that I will continue with the second volume as I lost interest in the story.
In the story, a zombie outbreak was the real cause of the Black Death. But these are not regular zombies, they are smart-ass zombies that can ambush, retreat, reorganize and hunt you down. Lucky for us we have the men of the Fiat Lux, the assassin's arm of the Church, to help us fight those hungry bastards.
I liked the art and the premise. Also, know that it's very explicit. I lost interest half the way between issues 3 and 4. I'd be lying if I say that I will continue with the second volume as I lost interest in the story.
October 30, 2018
2.5
Started off pretty cool, but at about halfway I started losing interest. I kept waiting for something momentous to occur, but nothing did so my interest level waned.
Started off pretty cool, but at about halfway I started losing interest. I kept waiting for something momentous to occur, but nothing did so my interest level waned.
December 29, 2021
Una historia adictiva sobre zombies y conspiraciones en la era medieval. Decidí leer esta novela gráfica por puro impulso, ya que la vi en la ebiblio y me pareció que tenía pinta de ser una buena opción para distraerme un rato. No esperaba absolutamente nada de ella, así que me sorprendió cómo logró atraparme e intrigarme desde el principio.
El Fiat Lux es un grupo que trabaja para la Iglesia. Son guerreros que no tienen remilgos para hacer lo que sea necesario para cumplir sus misiones, incluso aunque eso pueda suponer que los maten. Leales, fieros y malhablados, deberán enfrentarse a la resurrección de los muertos, aunque no será en un sentido precisamente bonito… los cadáveres andantes no tienen piedad y el Fiat Lux deberá intentar parar el apocalipsis que se está desatando.
La historia tiene un estilo que os recordará a The Walking Dead en algunos aspectos, pero eso no es algo malo, es más, a mí por lo menos me sirvió para engancharme aún más porque soy muy fan de ese tipo de tramas. A esto hay que sumarle que la novela tiene un ritmo muy bueno y no desaprovecha el tiempo con escenas de relleno.
Me gustó cómo se mezclaba todo lo de los zombies con la Iglesia y con las conspiraciones. Predomina la acción y abundan los instantes gores, pero no considero que fuera violencia gratuita. Todo tenía un sentido y cada decisión o acto sirvió para que en las últimas páginas se dieran un par de descubrimientos inesperados.
A los personajes no se les conoce demasiado a nivel personal, pero creo que tampoco era algo necesario, así que no me molestó tener una idea muy básica sobre cada uno. Me da que el autor pretendía centrarse en los acontecimientos y no en la psicología de los personajes, y no le salió nada mal.
Aunque hay un segundo volumen, éste tiene un final bastante autoconclusivo en algunos sentidos. Más que continuar con el tipo de lucha que protagonizó esta parte, se abre la puerta a que otros personajes cobren protagonismo y a que toque investigar y combatir por un objetivo diferente.
Lo único que no me convenció es lo confusos que resultaron algunos saltos temporales, ya que estaban metidos de repente y eran ligeramente confusos. De hecho, aunque uno servía para desvelar un secreto, estaba encajado de un modo extraño en la historia. Era como si solo se hubiera añadido para dejar un pequeño mensaje feminista, el cual no hubiera estado mal si al menos se hubiera hecho algo más de hincapié en el tema.
Las ilustraciones son salvajes y sangrientas, pero en este tipo de historias no se puede estar con sutilezas porque eso le restaría dramatismo al asunto. Aunque se usan tonalidades oscuras y a veces se juega a desdibujar algunos rasgos, eso da una buena sensación de movimiento a las imágenes. A nivel artístico, no tengo ninguna queja.
La puntuación real sería un 3,5/5. Redondeo al alza por lo entretenida y apasionante que me ha parecido la historia. Puede que no sea increíblemente original ni cuente nada extraordinario, pero deja una impresión positiva y sabe mantener la atención en todo momento.
El Fiat Lux es un grupo que trabaja para la Iglesia. Son guerreros que no tienen remilgos para hacer lo que sea necesario para cumplir sus misiones, incluso aunque eso pueda suponer que los maten. Leales, fieros y malhablados, deberán enfrentarse a la resurrección de los muertos, aunque no será en un sentido precisamente bonito… los cadáveres andantes no tienen piedad y el Fiat Lux deberá intentar parar el apocalipsis que se está desatando.
La historia tiene un estilo que os recordará a The Walking Dead en algunos aspectos, pero eso no es algo malo, es más, a mí por lo menos me sirvió para engancharme aún más porque soy muy fan de ese tipo de tramas. A esto hay que sumarle que la novela tiene un ritmo muy bueno y no desaprovecha el tiempo con escenas de relleno.
Me gustó cómo se mezclaba todo lo de los zombies con la Iglesia y con las conspiraciones. Predomina la acción y abundan los instantes gores, pero no considero que fuera violencia gratuita. Todo tenía un sentido y cada decisión o acto sirvió para que en las últimas páginas se dieran un par de descubrimientos inesperados.
A los personajes no se les conoce demasiado a nivel personal, pero creo que tampoco era algo necesario, así que no me molestó tener una idea muy básica sobre cada uno. Me da que el autor pretendía centrarse en los acontecimientos y no en la psicología de los personajes, y no le salió nada mal.
Aunque hay un segundo volumen, éste tiene un final bastante autoconclusivo en algunos sentidos. Más que continuar con el tipo de lucha que protagonizó esta parte, se abre la puerta a que otros personajes cobren protagonismo y a que toque investigar y combatir por un objetivo diferente.
Lo único que no me convenció es lo confusos que resultaron algunos saltos temporales, ya que estaban metidos de repente y eran ligeramente confusos. De hecho, aunque uno servía para desvelar un secreto, estaba encajado de un modo extraño en la historia. Era como si solo se hubiera añadido para dejar un pequeño mensaje feminista, el cual no hubiera estado mal si al menos se hubiera hecho algo más de hincapié en el tema.
Las ilustraciones son salvajes y sangrientas, pero en este tipo de historias no se puede estar con sutilezas porque eso le restaría dramatismo al asunto. Aunque se usan tonalidades oscuras y a veces se juega a desdibujar algunos rasgos, eso da una buena sensación de movimiento a las imágenes. A nivel artístico, no tengo ninguna queja.
La puntuación real sería un 3,5/5. Redondeo al alza por lo entretenida y apasionante que me ha parecido la historia. Puede que no sea increíblemente original ni cuente nada extraordinario, pero deja una impresión positiva y sabe mantener la atención en todo momento.
March 3, 2018
I loved the art. Very detailed with a neat stylized aspect. The story premise is an interesting approach to the zombie trope. The art is gory with a bit of zombiefied nudity. The story is slightly predictable and the character language and attitudes can be off putting at times.
Sadly, the most interesting character and secret are removed from the board in this first story arc. Overall, I enjoyed reading this volume but I’m not sure I’m attached enough to read subsequent offerings.
Sadly, the most interesting character and secret are removed from the board in this first story arc. Overall, I enjoyed reading this volume but I’m not sure I’m attached enough to read subsequent offerings.
January 25, 2018
I'd almost rather have a zombie chew my nose off than read this again.
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for rape and misogyny. This review contains spoilers.)
DNF at 75%.
The year is 1347, and the Black Death is sweeping through Eurasia. Sent to dispatch a rogue crusader in a distant kingdom, a regimen of the Church's army known as the Fiat Lux is summoned to the Vatican to rescue the Pope. Instead they are unwittingly drawn into a vast conspiracy involving zombies, religious dogma, and Jesus and Lucifer.
On the surface, Pestilence is a pretty cool idea: what if the Black Plague was actually a zombie outbreak? The plot line is surprisingly boring, though, and I only really cared about one character, who's killed off just as he becomes interesting.
Worse still is the dialogue. If I had a dollar for every time "cocksucker" or "cunt" makes an appearance, I could buy an entire case of Daiya cheese. (At the 5% case discount, yes, but still: that shit is expensive!) I don't have a problem with swearing, but here it's pathetically overdone, as if it was written by a couple of ten-year-old boys who just discovered the f-word. There's also some pretty gratuitous female nudity [side eye], as well as a full-page pillage-and-rape panel that's both wholly unnecessary and obnoxiously insensitive [lighting this book on fire].
And then there's the scene that made me throw in the towel (spoilers!). One of the characters is a woman who's passing as man so that she might serve in the Church's army. Bitten by zombie, with her and her comrades surrounded by a swarm, she sacrifices herself to save them. And, well, I'll just let the panels do the talking.
Let me repeat that for emphasis:
So, in apologizing for being a sexist satchel of dicks, the sword that dude falls on is a disparaging term for women [headdesk].
I can only imagine that the author thought he was doing something "nice ... for the ladies" here, only to fail in the most epic way possible - and ruin the only redeeming part of this story for me in the process.
I wish I could get the hour I wasted on this book back. Failing that, a giant pot of liquid gold would suffice.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2018/02/13/...
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for rape and misogyny. This review contains spoilers.)
DNF at 75%.
The year is 1347, and the Black Death is sweeping through Eurasia. Sent to dispatch a rogue crusader in a distant kingdom, a regimen of the Church's army known as the Fiat Lux is summoned to the Vatican to rescue the Pope. Instead they are unwittingly drawn into a vast conspiracy involving zombies, religious dogma, and Jesus and Lucifer.
On the surface, Pestilence is a pretty cool idea: what if the Black Plague was actually a zombie outbreak? The plot line is surprisingly boring, though, and I only really cared about one character, who's killed off just as he becomes interesting.
Worse still is the dialogue. If I had a dollar for every time "cocksucker" or "cunt" makes an appearance, I could buy an entire case of Daiya cheese. (At the 5% case discount, yes, but still: that shit is expensive!) I don't have a problem with swearing, but here it's pathetically overdone, as if it was written by a couple of ten-year-old boys who just discovered the f-word. There's also some pretty gratuitous female nudity [side eye], as well as a full-page pillage-and-rape panel that's both wholly unnecessary and obnoxiously insensitive [lighting this book on fire].
And then there's the scene that made me throw in the towel (spoilers!). One of the characters is a woman who's passing as man so that she might serve in the Church's army. Bitten by zombie, with her and her comrades surrounded by a swarm, she sacrifices herself to save them. And, well, I'll just let the panels do the talking.
Let me repeat that for emphasis:
So, in apologizing for being a sexist satchel of dicks, the sword that dude falls on is a disparaging term for women [headdesk].
I can only imagine that the author thought he was doing something "nice ... for the ladies" here, only to fail in the most epic way possible - and ruin the only redeeming part of this story for me in the process.
I wish I could get the hour I wasted on this book back. Failing that, a giant pot of liquid gold would suffice.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2018/02/13/...
November 30, 2018
I don't like zombies and zombie stories too much, but this one was great. Fast paced, blood and guts driven book with a little pinch of conspiracy, humor and great art. Oleg surely enjoyed drawing this, must get second part as soon as possible
December 28, 2024
3.5⭐ a por el siguiente y último volumen 💪🏼
March 7, 2018
This is the first zombie graphic novel I've read that hasn't given me nightmares. That's three stars right there. I like that the religious aspect isn't overplayed. Yes the characters are Christians and they believe in their faith, but at the same time they aren't going to let their faith get in the way of common sense. I hope Abel makes a reappearance.
January 11, 2018
Great story idea: the Black Death was really a zombie plague hushed up by the Catholic church. This was a lot of fun, as we follow a devoted group of crusader/knights fighting their way through a medieval hellscape, trying to discover the secret behind a strange disease that appears to bring the dead back to life. The Church doesn't want this getting out, because it would undercut the story of Jesus, so they've spread the lie that it's all caused by rats and anyone who gets too close to the truth is a heretic and excommunicated. The art was great, just this side of too cartoony--it reminded me a lot of early Walking Dead. And the story and interactions between the knights of Fiat Lux had me hooked. I'm not sure there's anywhere for this story to go at the end (it's fairly conclusive), but I'd pick up a second volume.
March 10, 2020
So Wicked!!! This was so well written and the illustrations were so much fun and gruesome! I am definitely a big Aftershocks Comics fan. So far I have had a blast reading all the titles I've bought of theirs.
January 2, 2018
Gritty, gory and awesome knights templar tale about the black plague! Love the characters and the background flashbacks! Would love to see a novel like this because this graphic book is excellent!
March 2, 2019
The story, supported by covers intrigued me. Group of professional mercenaries in service of the Church hunting down the reason for pestilence - a zombie apocalypse. I expected something gritty, dark and dirty. But in reality, it is more like zombie apocalypse adventure, thanks to the art and rather a simple plot. It's not actually bad - the story is thrilling and it's easy to root for the main "heroes". It's bloody and ugly, but I expected more "real medieval" than fantasy (and yes, excluded some historical pinpoints it could be in some fantasy kingdom and you wouldn't tell the difference. So my disappointment from this comics is more my unfulfilled expectations than it's lack of overall quality.
February 9, 2021
Oh man. I read both Vol 1 & Vol 2 together. I thought I would like this because I really enjoy vampire / horror books. This one was, for some reason I can't put my finger on, so viscerally disgusting, it made me feel physically sick. I think it was the fact that it felt like gore for the purpose of gore, rather than any purpose or plot or theme to be explored. It felt grotesque which was unsettling.
November 21, 2018
Espectacular!!!
September 14, 2020
A good idea, but the speed at which it leapfrogged across Europe made it more of an outline than a story; and Deus Ex Machina-ing your way out of a tale always seems a bit cheap.
March 16, 2021
Zombies, crusaders, awesome artwork, and loads of gore - what more could you want? The story is fairly simple and the characters lean towards the threadbare, but it didn't ever bother me while I was reading. In fact, this was a real "page-turner" for most of the ride. This is thanks in large part to the artwork, which is gloriously violent and detailed (with some truly delightful full-page spreads). Interesting ideas, tense moments, great art, and a cliffhanger ending. I'd definitely recommend it, and I can't wait to see where the story goes next!
January 11, 2018
Really cool premise and detail. Wasn’t my favorite form of art with the floating heads doing dialogue, but definitely glad I took the time to read it. Characters were cool and it kept from being preachy, which I normally avoid reading.
January 10, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I'm sick, in bed, so I have a lot of time to reading then I read this book in a few hours. Very interesting! Amazing!
January 22, 2018
I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was completely sucked in to this story from the first page. Brilliant idea and very well told and illustrated.
I was completely sucked in to this story from the first page. Brilliant idea and very well told and illustrated.
May 14, 2018
What if the Zombie Apocalypse didn't happen outside of Atlanta, but instead occurred a thousand years ago during the Crusades! Pestilence explores that concept and Illustrates what would happen.
November 13, 2018
3.5 stars
Interesting premise, decent execution. And also i can easily see this as an Avatar Press book
Interesting premise, decent execution. And also i can easily see this as an Avatar Press book
June 28, 2019
Crusaders meet zombies, a nice concept for fans of either genre, well executed.
December 3, 2025
The members of Fiat Lux are skilled assassins faithful to the Church and led by Roderick. They fix things. A secret message from the Church gives them their new orders. Unfortunately, the messenger is infected with a strange disease. James, one of the men of Fiat Lux is bitten. He is the first to be infected, but his comrades won't leave him behind, and others will fare even worse. The zombies are spreading and there is a dark secret behind their existence.
September 10, 2018
Pestilence is a Horror Graphic Novel that reads a genre piece designed to feel like a Horror B-Movie.
How does the story work?
Pestilence can be summed up with incredible ease due to being a genre work.
The Fiat Lux (which literally translates from Latin as Let there be light) is a special forces type band of medieval knights, commissioned by the Pope and lead by our lens and protagonist, Roderick; head to the Middle East to rid a stronghold of a corrupt knight and his band of men. Upon returning to Europe, they find the continent ravaged by the Black Death; but not as we know it, instead of Bubonic Plague, the citizens of Europe are being killed by a Zombie virus.
Their mission now is to secure the Pope.
What works?
Pestilence, being a Graphic Novel, adheres to a visual medium storytelling format familiar to Movie-goers and its delivery and pacing feel rather Filmic for the most part. Action sequences play-out clearly and with cues and visual framing akin to a well-choreographed Action Movie.
The Book feels and reads like a Horror B-Movie and keeps up with its tongue-in-cheek story-framing fairly well, never changing gears to take itself either too seriously or to ham it up too much.
What doesn't work?
Despite the smooth flow of the conflict and resolution act, the first act of the Book feels quite choppy in its pacing and this is a little jarring.
The ending is slightly rushed, not in pacing so much as its reasoning, which leads the resolution to feel a little bit like a Deus Ex Machina.
The swearing doesn't feel natural for men of God and instead feels like an addition for shock value and therefore a bit of cheap heat.
The Verdict
Worth a read if stylised genre pieces and Horror cheese is your thing. If you're easily offended, probably steer clear of this one.
How does the story work?
Pestilence can be summed up with incredible ease due to being a genre work.
The Fiat Lux (which literally translates from Latin as Let there be light) is a special forces type band of medieval knights, commissioned by the Pope and lead by our lens and protagonist, Roderick; head to the Middle East to rid a stronghold of a corrupt knight and his band of men. Upon returning to Europe, they find the continent ravaged by the Black Death; but not as we know it, instead of Bubonic Plague, the citizens of Europe are being killed by a Zombie virus.
Their mission now is to secure the Pope.
What works?
Pestilence, being a Graphic Novel, adheres to a visual medium storytelling format familiar to Movie-goers and its delivery and pacing feel rather Filmic for the most part. Action sequences play-out clearly and with cues and visual framing akin to a well-choreographed Action Movie.
The Book feels and reads like a Horror B-Movie and keeps up with its tongue-in-cheek story-framing fairly well, never changing gears to take itself either too seriously or to ham it up too much.
What doesn't work?
Despite the smooth flow of the conflict and resolution act, the first act of the Book feels quite choppy in its pacing and this is a little jarring.
The ending is slightly rushed, not in pacing so much as its reasoning, which leads the resolution to feel a little bit like a Deus Ex Machina.
The swearing doesn't feel natural for men of God and instead feels like an addition for shock value and therefore a bit of cheap heat.
The Verdict
Worth a read if stylised genre pieces and Horror cheese is your thing. If you're easily offended, probably steer clear of this one.
February 11, 2018
What if the black death during the middle ages wasn’t a disease but a Zombie outbreak? What if the Church helped cover it up and make it out to what we now know it as? These questions are the premises of what this comic is based off of.
It follows Rodrick of Fiat Lux who is out to save the world, even if that means bringing down the church itself which he follows.
Just a quick warning about this comic it is VERY gory, VERY sexually explicit (Penis in shadow but obvious, breasts, sex/rape, vagina in shadow, etc…). There is also profanity galore in this comic. This is written for 18+.
To be honest I’m not sure how I feel about this comic, on one hand I really like the story and the artwork is very well done. But on the other hand it sometimes goes over the top, there is a scene with a fat nude woman who is pregnant with triplets and her stomach is cut open and the zombie triplets are looking out her womb like they are Joey’s. Later on, they are riding on their mothers shoulders with their umbilical cords still attached and going down to her womb. The writing is immature in my opinion. It’s like they only know a few swear words and they are repeated over and over like the simpletons they apparently are. The big guy is obviously obsessed with cock’s because that all he talks about.
Now to the story, I’m not sure I cared for the ending. It all seemed too simple of a solution and it occurred way too quickly and wrapped up the comic with a nice neat bow on top. There was a grand epic battle but it was just more of the same of what you had seen throughout the entire book so things just blurred together and nothing stood out.
Unfortunately the comic does have DRM, so I have to subtract a point for that.
It follows Rodrick of Fiat Lux who is out to save the world, even if that means bringing down the church itself which he follows.
Just a quick warning about this comic it is VERY gory, VERY sexually explicit (Penis in shadow but obvious, breasts, sex/rape, vagina in shadow, etc…). There is also profanity galore in this comic. This is written for 18+.
To be honest I’m not sure how I feel about this comic, on one hand I really like the story and the artwork is very well done. But on the other hand it sometimes goes over the top, there is a scene with a fat nude woman who is pregnant with triplets and her stomach is cut open and the zombie triplets are looking out her womb like they are Joey’s. Later on, they are riding on their mothers shoulders with their umbilical cords still attached and going down to her womb. The writing is immature in my opinion. It’s like they only know a few swear words and they are repeated over and over like the simpletons they apparently are. The big guy is obviously obsessed with cock’s because that all he talks about.
Now to the story, I’m not sure I cared for the ending. It all seemed too simple of a solution and it occurred way too quickly and wrapped up the comic with a nice neat bow on top. There was a grand epic battle but it was just more of the same of what you had seen throughout the entire book so things just blurred together and nothing stood out.
Unfortunately the comic does have DRM, so I have to subtract a point for that.
February 26, 2018
'Pestilence, Vol. 1' by Frank Tieri with art by Oleg Okunev is a grim-dark fantasy comic that puts an interesting spin on the Black Death, but is so grim and over the top, that I kept getting pulled away from the story.
In the late 14th Century an ex-crusader named Roderick heads up a motley strike team called Fiat Lux. They are agents of the church. A strange sickness causes those infected to react violently and attack. It is feared that the Pope could be next, so the Fiat Lux team is sent to rescue the Pope and take him to Paris. Everywhere they turn, their are more zombies. The zombies are getting smarter and smarter.
Grim-dark seems to be where fantasy is these days. The stories are dark and violent. They are also full of gratuitous sex and language. I really like the premise of the black death being a zombie plague. I don't mind bad language in the service of a story. I liked the art well enough, especially the covers. The delivery felt a bit over the top, and it ended up not being my sort of thing in the end.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from AfterShock Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
In the late 14th Century an ex-crusader named Roderick heads up a motley strike team called Fiat Lux. They are agents of the church. A strange sickness causes those infected to react violently and attack. It is feared that the Pope could be next, so the Fiat Lux team is sent to rescue the Pope and take him to Paris. Everywhere they turn, their are more zombies. The zombies are getting smarter and smarter.
Grim-dark seems to be where fantasy is these days. The stories are dark and violent. They are also full of gratuitous sex and language. I really like the premise of the black death being a zombie plague. I don't mind bad language in the service of a story. I liked the art well enough, especially the covers. The delivery felt a bit over the top, and it ended up not being my sort of thing in the end.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from AfterShock Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
February 20, 2024
Zombies in the middle ages.... how could I pass this up?
This book tells the story of a group of mercenaries, who work as a mercenary group of sorts for the Church, as they battle literal zombies during the 14th century. Their group is called the Fiat Lux, and they are feared and respected wherever they go. However, as more and more people fall to this "black plague", they find that not even their formidable skills can prepare them for the onslaught of the dead.
This was a clever and really entertaining tale from Frank Tieri. Im familiar with some of his other work, so I decided to give this a try. The story is brutal at times, but really a fun read. I really appreciated Tieri's use of vulgarity as it kind of made the story a bit more "real". A lot of stories about knights and such tend to make them these bastions of goodness, and here we have a much more realistic take on just guys fighting in the middle ages. Also the art by Olev Okunev was great, as it matched the gritty story overall.
If you are a fan of zombies or knights, and like your stories gory - this one is certainly for you.
This book tells the story of a group of mercenaries, who work as a mercenary group of sorts for the Church, as they battle literal zombies during the 14th century. Their group is called the Fiat Lux, and they are feared and respected wherever they go. However, as more and more people fall to this "black plague", they find that not even their formidable skills can prepare them for the onslaught of the dead.
This was a clever and really entertaining tale from Frank Tieri. Im familiar with some of his other work, so I decided to give this a try. The story is brutal at times, but really a fun read. I really appreciated Tieri's use of vulgarity as it kind of made the story a bit more "real". A lot of stories about knights and such tend to make them these bastions of goodness, and here we have a much more realistic take on just guys fighting in the middle ages. Also the art by Olev Okunev was great, as it matched the gritty story overall.
If you are a fan of zombies or knights, and like your stories gory - this one is certainly for you.
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