The Complete Caballistics Inc.

Caballistics, Inc #1-2

by Gordon Rennie, Dom Reardon

DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR A DEPARTMENT WAS FORMED WITHIN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE TO COMBAT NAZI OCCULT WARFARE.

In the 21st century, however, it has long outlived its usefulness and its funding is scrapped. Enter reclusive millionaire rock star Ethan Kostabi, who has brought up its employees and, together with a handful of freelance ghosthunters, constructed a brand new outfit – Caballistics, Inc.

But the forces of the supernatural are not the only enemies that this disparate group have to tackle, for within the heart of Caballistics Inc. are dangerous secrets that threaten to tear the organisation apart…

Written by Gordon Rennie ( Absalom ) and illustrated by Dom Reardon , this twisted tale of supernatural horror has finally been collected in a single complete volume, ready to disturb readers old and new alike.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels

304 pages, Paperback

Published February 19, 2019

About the author

Freelance writer for over 20 years – When he’s not being ungainfully employed as a BAFTA-nominated video games scriptwriter, he keeps himself busy writing comics, novels, screenplays and Doctor Who audio plays. Comics work includes Predator, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Missionary Man, Necronauts, Caballistics Inc and Absalom, and Dept. of Monsterology for Renegade.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick update to say that I enjoyed reading this just as much as I did the first time - there is a lot to take in here which is made all the more dramatic with the monochrome artwork. It just goes to show that sometimes books need to be read several times to really appreciate them


I will be the first one to admit that I lurk around websites reading reviews and following links so when I came across Caballistics (if my auto correct will let me spell it correctly) I was intrigued.

IT seems there are many comic book stories out there which do not revolve around huge story arcs or shared world franchised characters - do not get me wrong I have some amazing books which feature these but sometimes its fun to wander off the beaten track and see what is out there.

So here you have a gritty and rather bleak story about a group of characters all who bring something special to the table forming what is basically a freelance group of trouble-shooters. I will not go in to great detail of who they are as not only does their back story become part of what is going on but also their interaction with each other - that dynamic is most certainly part of the narrative.

So what makes this so much fun - well apart from the action and there is plenty of it - there is an intriguing storyline - although at times it is pretty easy to "guess" ahead of what is going to happen.

but most also the fact it is unashamedly British with loads of locations and pop culture references any one familiar with the UK will instantly get. This is highlighted by one of the characters who is American and takes every opportunity to express their hope of escaping this wet and dreary land.

This book also connects to another series Absolom which I am hoping to explore next however the final volume is not quite published yet so I am resisting (read trying and failing) to be patient

[Max Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mysterious billionaire funds the wholesale purchase of the secret British occult department, or what's left of it. The intent is, I guess, to make killing zombies a profitable venture. Since there are only two people left on the job, he quickly hires some more. This is a complete story of their adventures. I think it was mostly written over the course of 2002-2005 and left unfinished up until 2019, ending on a cliffhanger. The final short chapter ties the last loose end that the author had uncautiously put in there, so, thankfully, it's all here. This is actually a good argument for reading only the collected editions and ignoring the 2000AD prog format.



British occult is the best occult, I'll say. That bleak and cynical worldview, the dread of it all lurking out there, they keep me coming back to it wanting more. And the amount of dead bodies that these people leave after they're done is staggering, too. Like who actually mops it all up? Near the finale it escalates to the point of the whole city of Glasgow, let's just say, getting occult bombed. As is the norm, every member of the team has their dark secret and their employer has the darkest of all. And not all of them survive in the end. In fact, roughly half of the team can be considered good people but as someone has put it in Defoe, yet another 2000AD occult horror comic book, "we're what's needed to get the job done". Gordon Rennie gets it done good, I'll be sure to check out whatever else he writes from now on. Same thing with the art. Dom Reardon draws it very rough, it feels like an unfinished schematic pencil sketch and that is perfect for the genre.



The prog format has a sometimes questionable feature, it brings very tight constraints to the story. Five or six pages for a chunk is not a lot, and sometimes it's clearly not enough. Cutting out the middle parts does not work every time leaving me wishing there was more of buildup or intermediary stuff left in. Oh yeah, Harry Absalom does appear in the book a couple of times. Hilariously, he is mostly called Absolam and one time Absolom. He usually has two "men in black" following him, and they probably serve as a basis for homunculi in his story but here they look very different. I think that the whole Accord with the demons thing was developed right when the author was writing this, probably closer to the end. For the fans of the British occult horror genre, this book is just what the doctor ordered.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very amusing read, that is formed upon the spectacle of British Occultists, and the interests of a powerful and wealthy rock star.

He puts together a group of employees with extraordinary abilities. All of them try their best to emulate the British paranormal division of World War 2.

And then the true mind games begin, is he the Devil, or is he not?

[Simon Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid I was always a bit of a graphic novel and comics junkie and if I'm honest I remain one 40 years on. Like many kids of the 1970s and 1980s I read the Beano and the Dandy but it was the Eagle, Action Comics and latterly 2000AD that were for me what a weekend was all about. Judge Dread, Strontium Dog, Nemesis the Warlock, Rogue Trooper and Slain were my highlights and I still get a little shiver when I think about the stories from way back when. Having said that I probably haven't read a single issue of 2000AD since the late 80s and probably couldn't give you a single reason why not. So I'd never before seen or heard of either this title or its writer for that matter. It wasn't until I walked into Waterstones in Oxford and came across it by complete happenstance that I was even aware of its existence. A weird slightly psychedelic cover and an interesting back blurb and I thought OK this ticks most of my boxes. It wasn't until I got it home that I saw the 2000AD logo.
Having finished it all I can say is that 2000AD has changed massively since I last read it. Their stories always pushed the boundaries and clearly still do as this is one dark story.
The art is angular, sparse and wonderfully monochromatic and the story is original though displays an obvious, but light touch, reverence for Dr Who, Hammer films, Alan Moore and all things 2000AD.
I am definitely going to be searching out more of this and I might even be getting a 2000AD subscription if there's more of this kind of thing on offer.

[Alex Sarll]

And so, with a bit of a whimper, eight years after the last installment, ends one of the best 2000AD strips to begin after 2000 AD. Inspired by the classic set-up of a mismatched team of oddball experts investigating the paranormal, it fed that through a very 21st century filter (they get privatised, and the new money has a rather questionable agenda) before really starting to crank the handle. Like The Shield, which began around the same time, it was always operating in a Sadeian world, keen to remind us of the misfortunes of virtue and the triumph of vice: the good guys would generally snatch something approximating a win, but only at a price, and with the most conventionally sympathetic characters the ones most likely to pay that price. It was my favourite ever writing from Rennie, of whom I normally think as competent but workmanlike, though obviously much of the appeal lay in Reardon's art, which did a wonderful job of bringing out the nastiness lurking in the shadows of an all too recognisable Britain. Part of me wishes we'd had more of it to take us through this darkening decade, but better that the power of that original run wasn't diluted by not knowing when to stop, as has happened with too many 2000AD strips. Plus, as the subsequent spin-off Absalom has shown, there might have been a temptation to go a bit too Pat Mills with the politics now it's become clear just how screwed by history we are.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 4.5/5 brought up to 5 and highly encouraged read for anyone wanting to read "adult" graphic novels outside of superhero stuff.
It's just straight fire. Caballistics Inc. caries itself on its characters and their dynamics. Sure, it can be a bit confusing at time with the large cast and many individuals go by multiple aliases and have years as in thousands of years cuz they're immortal of relevant backstory that isn't addressed into the second half. But it really isn't an issue as Rennie makes sure to make it easy to pick up with what you remember about each character and their main "deals." And jeez do all those "deals" lead to some fun group dynamics to read. The characters play off of each other very well. It was always a delight to see how characters responded to each other.
And the storyline helps fit and highlight those group dynamics. The story starts episodic and semi-serialized with certain over-arching group issues such as Jenny's possession and the group's distaste for Ravne. Then the story slowly becomes more serialized as more and more overarching group issues bubble up to the surface. To match this the story starts focusing less on the monsters they hunt or deal with and has the narrative become increasingly driven by the in-group conflict driving.
Now as a graphic novel we can't ignore the art. I think the artist did really good. The art goes for that traditional black-and-white 2000AD look and pulls it off really well. The heavy use of black gives it a bit of a noir feel that helps with the grimy monster-hunting first half and the tense interpersonal conflicts and intrigue of the second half. Although, sometimes the use of black becomes a bit too much and thinks become a tad hard to read such as shadows covering too much of someone's face.
Caballistics Inc has a fun monster-slaying first half and an even more fun and exciting intrigue "can't trust the group I'm working with" deal as those in the group takes sides and make alliances, both steady and unsteady, with another. All tied in with a unique and fun art-style.
Also, quick props to the letterist. They did a great job altering text balloons, balloon colors, and the lettering used for sound effects.

[Philip Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was so much fun, from gory start to bloody finish. If the following premise doesn't excite then please leave the premises now: a bunch of misfit paranormal investigators are hired by a reclusive pop star billionaire to tackle cases of demonic possession. Each character has a dark secret.

OK, you're still reading so you must share my taste for the weird. Well this delivers in buckets; pacy, funny, genuine "didn't see that coming" moments and lots of action. Not many books mix cameos from Tom Baker and the Prince of Wales but it all made perfect internal/infernal sense...kind of. Flashbacks to 4,000 BC, homages to Bram Stoker, Hammer horror and trips to the Vatican all work wonderfully well.

The black and white art fitted the content like a mink codpiece and the story came to a properly satisfying conclusion. The heroes turn out to be...er, let's just say unconventional. I've read books with similar subject matter (Injection, The Black Monday Murders) but the humour and scope here elevates this to pure genre joy. Who you gonna call? These guys! Another classic from the Galaxy's Greatest Comic, 2000AD.

[Ricardo Nuno Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must confess that this was one of the most difficult graphic novels I've read in the last years.
There are quite a few characters, some of them speaking in old Scottish/Irish hard-to-grasp dialects, and several obscure cultural references to make your head spin.

I struggled at times to understand the plot and the events but, hey, it was worth it in the end, because the story progresses along several varied but connected chapters to come to a surprising twisted conclusion.

The art is not my particularly favorite style (black and white hard lines sketches) but it suits the dark gloomy supernatural plot very well (and it's perfectly in sync with 2000 AD style).

So, if you fancy dense horror mythical plots (led by a A-Team, X-Files, H.P. Lovecraft and Indiana Jones styled bunch), you're in for a treat with "Caballistics Inc. - The Complete Collection".
Don't forget to set aside a few hours for this 352-page edition.

[Bahman Naraghi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a strange love of the occult/conspiracy genre, especially when they mix in some other fringe concepts like Nazi occult warfare, Lovecraft mythos and paranormal investigators. Overall, I really liked the series, though I will say that I didn't really find any of the characters particularly sympathetic. The art is a bit rough for my tastes, and while the B/W palette is very apropos for the style of the book, it's also much more black than white, with almost no shading. Some definite Mignola influences, but at times, its really difficult to follow the action on the page because of the overuse of black and general lack of defined panels.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shockingly violent in places but very imaginative and some great ideas. Enjoyed the homage to British horror cinema especially. My only quibble would be that when virtually every character is a tough sarcastic violent case the dialogue can get a bit samey. Terrific b/w artwork too.

[Davide Pappalardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid read, even if it the final chapter is kinda rushed and not all that satisfying. A very British version of BPRD if you like

[Kelvin Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hellboy comparisons are obvious so I won't make them. Oops.
Great art, with a wise choice to go black and white, although the cover of this edition suggests that a splash of a single colour would have looked good.
Great setting, almost like a really good Delta Green -- which gets a namecheck -- campaign.
Some interesting characters, although they often don't develop beyond a sketch.
And a plot that rambles a bit, almost as if Rennie changed his mind about what he was interested in, and perhaps even lost interest in the whole project by the end.

Still, it's good fun and the weaknesses only make me wish that there had been more, as there's a great deal of potential here. It's well worth a read... particularly if you like Hellboy. ;)