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Britannia (Collected Editions) #1-3
Britannia: Deluxe Edition
On the fringes of civilization, the world’s first detective is about to make an unholy discovery…
Comics legend Peter Milligan (X-Statix, Shade the Changing Man) and incendiary artists Juan Jose Ryp (NINJAK, Clone) and Robert Gill (BOOK OF DEATH) lead a phantasmagorical expedition in the lands between darkness, desire, and destruction right here in a deluxe oversized hardcover collecting the 10-time sold out magnum opus that Gizmodo calls a "unique take… that conquered our hearts."
Ruled by the Fates. Manipulated by the Gods. Commanded by Caesar. In the year 65 A.D., one’s destiny was not his own. At the height of Nero’s reign, a veteran of Rome’s imperial war machine has been dispatched to the farthest reaches of the colonies to investigate unnatural happenings… In the remote outpost of Britannia, Antonius Axia – the First Detective – will become Rome’s only hope to reassert control over the empire’s most barbaric frontier…and keep the monsters that bridge the line between myth and mystery at bay…
Collecting BRITANNIA #1–4, BRITANNIA: WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE #1–4, and BRITANNIA: LOST EAGLES OF ROME #1–4, along with over 20+ pages of rarely seen art and extras!
Comics legend Peter Milligan (X-Statix, Shade the Changing Man) and incendiary artists Juan Jose Ryp (NINJAK, Clone) and Robert Gill (BOOK OF DEATH) lead a phantasmagorical expedition in the lands between darkness, desire, and destruction right here in a deluxe oversized hardcover collecting the 10-time sold out magnum opus that Gizmodo calls a "unique take… that conquered our hearts."
Ruled by the Fates. Manipulated by the Gods. Commanded by Caesar. In the year 65 A.D., one’s destiny was not his own. At the height of Nero’s reign, a veteran of Rome’s imperial war machine has been dispatched to the farthest reaches of the colonies to investigate unnatural happenings… In the remote outpost of Britannia, Antonius Axia – the First Detective – will become Rome’s only hope to reassert control over the empire’s most barbaric frontier…and keep the monsters that bridge the line between myth and mystery at bay…
Collecting BRITANNIA #1–4, BRITANNIA: WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE #1–4, and BRITANNIA: LOST EAGLES OF ROME #1–4, along with over 20+ pages of rarely seen art and extras!
320 pages, Hardcover
Published August 13, 2019
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,303 books391 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 28, 2019
Britannia. Peter Milligan isn't the first author to put a detective in ancient Rome. However, Milligan presents a darker, more violent detective than most of his peers: a centurion not afraid to solve his problems at the end of his blade. Milligan also embeds his detective in quite a dark world, ruled by wyrds and haunted by devils. The attractively dark and occasionally grotesque art only improves on the evocative feel of the comic.
The history of Britannia is not overwhelming, but it has a great verisimilitude, feeling quite authentic. At the same time, Milligan keeps his speech modern, to ensure the comic remains approachable. I also adore the essays that Milligan includes at the end of each issue,. They're totally unnecessary to read and enjoy the stories, but they nicely expand upon the historical details of ancient Rome.
I would have liked Britannia to have some connection to the rest of the VH-E universe. I mean, there's people alive back then, such as the three brothers. But as a standalone historic military horror comic, this is still a nice release [4/5].
We Who Are About to Die. The second Britannia series is quite a bit different from its predecessor. Whereas the first book was about the very real demons of Britain, this one instead is about pragmatic rationalism in Rome and the rejection of the supernatural. Perhaps the contrast is intentional, as a difference between the wild frontier and the center of civilization, but it feels like a pretty big heel turn.
This book also focuses much more on investigation and detective work, and though that initially creates a more interesting mystery, by the end of the volume, it's a bit dry, leaving this second miniseries not quite as good as the first [3+/5].
Lost Eagles of Rome. Another nice detective story, as Antonius quests after three lost Eagle standards. As with the previous volume, this one really succeeds thanks to the mystery and investigation, plus it's got the bonus of some personal characterization for Antonius. I'd love to see more, but as far as I know, this is the end of the Britannia storyline [4/5].
Overall, Britannia is a nice book in the same way that Brian Wood's Northlanders was a nice book: it's a solid historical comic, ofr a sort not usually seen (though this is much more fanciful than Northlanders, both in its magic and in its conceits). It's not a particularly good VH-E universe book, though, which is a shame.
The history of Britannia is not overwhelming, but it has a great verisimilitude, feeling quite authentic. At the same time, Milligan keeps his speech modern, to ensure the comic remains approachable. I also adore the essays that Milligan includes at the end of each issue,. They're totally unnecessary to read and enjoy the stories, but they nicely expand upon the historical details of ancient Rome.
I would have liked Britannia to have some connection to the rest of the VH-E universe. I mean, there's people alive back then, such as the three brothers. But as a standalone historic military horror comic, this is still a nice release [4/5].
We Who Are About to Die. The second Britannia series is quite a bit different from its predecessor. Whereas the first book was about the very real demons of Britain, this one instead is about pragmatic rationalism in Rome and the rejection of the supernatural. Perhaps the contrast is intentional, as a difference between the wild frontier and the center of civilization, but it feels like a pretty big heel turn.
This book also focuses much more on investigation and detective work, and though that initially creates a more interesting mystery, by the end of the volume, it's a bit dry, leaving this second miniseries not quite as good as the first [3+/5].
Lost Eagles of Rome. Another nice detective story, as Antonius quests after three lost Eagle standards. As with the previous volume, this one really succeeds thanks to the mystery and investigation, plus it's got the bonus of some personal characterization for Antonius. I'd love to see more, but as far as I know, this is the end of the Britannia storyline [4/5].
Overall, Britannia is a nice book in the same way that Brian Wood's Northlanders was a nice book: it's a solid historical comic, ofr a sort not usually seen (though this is much more fanciful than Northlanders, both in its magic and in its conceits). It's not a particularly good VH-E universe book, though, which is a shame.
December 29, 2023
Britannia features a fairly entertaining premise of crime noir set in 60AD during the reign of Nero, the infamously cruel ruler of the ever expanding Roman Empire. A Roman detectorist (detective) named Antonius Axia has cultivated a reputation for being able to find people and solve problems and now travels to the annexed lands of Britain where he is tasked to investigate local superstitions of a demon. There, Antonius discovers the Roman camp is crippled with fear and reluctant to aid his investigation, leading him to take some more unconventional approaches towards solving the case. Milligan's characterization of Antonius is the main draw to the series - he's a flawed and at times reluctant hero, but his keen sense of logic and observation provides a stabilizing presence.
This collection consists of three arcs, previous collected in individual trades. The first arc introduces Antonius and a bit of his backstory as he travels to Britain to solve the case of the local demon. Compounding the story is the intricate set of political machinations of Nero's reign where the Emperor is portrayed as an ever dangerous force in the background. Adding to the mix is an infusion of Briton/Celtic folklore and mythology that provides a further layer of intrigue to the tale.
The second story, "We Who Are About to Die", brings Antonius back to Rome to continue his detectoring trade and we learn more about why he is disliked by much of Rome's elite class. The story has little to do with Britain this time around, but builds a compelling enough web of intrigue around a series of murders involving the sons of influential families. Aspects of Rome's corruption under Nero are further elaborated on here.
The final story, "Lost Eagles of Rome", takes Antonius to Germany to investigate the disappearance of three Eagle standards to the Germanic tribes. The loss of the standards symbolize Nero's waning power and hence serves as the driving tension towards the successful completion of the investigation.
While all three stories are fun, it's really only the first one that fully hits the mark for me. Milligan plays fast and loose with historical accuracy, but the first arc does do the best of feeling the most authentically researched and developed. One of the more apparent themes in Britannia is the juxtaposition of the unknowns of the ancient, less civilized corners of the world with the much more modernized Roman society. This contrast serves to be an interesting way for Antonius to hone his investigative prowess as he learns more about places completely alien to him. There is a strong undercurrent of the supernatural throughout, which I personally didn't feel was necessary, but Milligan makes it work fairly well. There are pacing issues in the second and third stories, and the decreased emphasis on historical details do make the series unnecessarily more campy.
Juan José Ryp handles the art duties for the first two tales and he does an admirable job with the intricate backgrounds, complex action sequences and delivering the foreboding atmospheric backdrop for the series. Robert Gill takes over for the final arc, and though his style is a bit looser and less distinctive than Ryp, he does a good job keeping the visual language consistent. Overall, Britannia is a series with a fun premise that mostly manages to execute on it well enough. Valiant mostly does superhero comics that don't appeal to my interests much, but I'm glad they decided to try something a bit more unique here.
This collection consists of three arcs, previous collected in individual trades. The first arc introduces Antonius and a bit of his backstory as he travels to Britain to solve the case of the local demon. Compounding the story is the intricate set of political machinations of Nero's reign where the Emperor is portrayed as an ever dangerous force in the background. Adding to the mix is an infusion of Briton/Celtic folklore and mythology that provides a further layer of intrigue to the tale.
The second story, "We Who Are About to Die", brings Antonius back to Rome to continue his detectoring trade and we learn more about why he is disliked by much of Rome's elite class. The story has little to do with Britain this time around, but builds a compelling enough web of intrigue around a series of murders involving the sons of influential families. Aspects of Rome's corruption under Nero are further elaborated on here.
The final story, "Lost Eagles of Rome", takes Antonius to Germany to investigate the disappearance of three Eagle standards to the Germanic tribes. The loss of the standards symbolize Nero's waning power and hence serves as the driving tension towards the successful completion of the investigation.
While all three stories are fun, it's really only the first one that fully hits the mark for me. Milligan plays fast and loose with historical accuracy, but the first arc does do the best of feeling the most authentically researched and developed. One of the more apparent themes in Britannia is the juxtaposition of the unknowns of the ancient, less civilized corners of the world with the much more modernized Roman society. This contrast serves to be an interesting way for Antonius to hone his investigative prowess as he learns more about places completely alien to him. There is a strong undercurrent of the supernatural throughout, which I personally didn't feel was necessary, but Milligan makes it work fairly well. There are pacing issues in the second and third stories, and the decreased emphasis on historical details do make the series unnecessarily more campy.
Juan José Ryp handles the art duties for the first two tales and he does an admirable job with the intricate backgrounds, complex action sequences and delivering the foreboding atmospheric backdrop for the series. Robert Gill takes over for the final arc, and though his style is a bit looser and less distinctive than Ryp, he does a good job keeping the visual language consistent. Overall, Britannia is a series with a fun premise that mostly manages to execute on it well enough. Valiant mostly does superhero comics that don't appeal to my interests much, but I'm glad they decided to try something a bit more unique here.
October 16, 2023
This volume collects all three Britannia series. It's the story of a detective in ancient Rome. Things start out supernatural and the first series is more of a horror series. The next two series are a little more traditional type detective stories.
I love the setting and the art is exceptional. I think this series had more potential if it had stuck to its horror roots, but this was still good and very original for a comic series.
I love the setting and the art is exceptional. I think this series had more potential if it had stuck to its horror roots, but this was still good and very original for a comic series.
August 7, 2025
It started off well, kind of like a version of HBO's Rome made by Hammer Films. This is all because of the idiosyncratic art of Juan Jose Ryp and my favorite colorist, Jordie Bellaire. Ryp's odd style reminds me a bit of the Mercer Mayer picture books my mom read me, and coupled with Bellaire's colors, it is actually pretty stunning artistically. Story wise? Meh.
Only the first arc is colored by Bellaire, and although D'Armata does very, very well, I just don't think they have the same ability.
By the third arc, we have even lost Ryp's intricate linework. But buy losing this, we also lose some of the grotesquerie, so a plus for some who want a more grounded, standard comic illustrative style.
There are a fair amount of back-matter essays from classical scholars appended, which does make for interesting reading.
So, really, the first trade/arc is something to behold visually, then a slow decline into total okayness.
Not bad at all. But I wouldn't have even looked at it if not for the art.
Only the first arc is colored by Bellaire, and although D'Armata does very, very well, I just don't think they have the same ability.
By the third arc, we have even lost Ryp's intricate linework. But buy losing this, we also lose some of the grotesquerie, so a plus for some who want a more grounded, standard comic illustrative style.
There are a fair amount of back-matter essays from classical scholars appended, which does make for interesting reading.
So, really, the first trade/arc is something to behold visually, then a slow decline into total okayness.
Not bad at all. But I wouldn't have even looked at it if not for the art.
April 26, 2023
Look, I'm going to be real with you: this comic is well illustrated, and has some cool ideas, but it's also kind of dumb.
For starters, after the first story arc, none of it is actually about or related to Britain. The name stuck around long after it made sense, and that's a bit silly.
I also felt like the story couldn't decide quite where it wanted to be on the presentation of supernatural elements. Which is frustrating--I wanted it to either commit or not, but I don't know if any of the things that appeared made it feel distinctly Roman, and considering this is a story about a "detectioner" (read: detective) in ancient Roman territory I would have liked a Roman flavor to the proceedings.
But the biggest failing to me was that I didn't get much of a grasp on the characters, especially the lead. In the final arc, his narration tells us he can't stop thinking about Achillea, to the point that even his usual lovers don't interest him anymore, and I never got a hint that he even HAD a lover. Or two.
I like the art, the fight scenes are great, and I like the idea of the Vestal Virgins as a religious/political force to be reckoned with (even if I have some heavy issues with their depiction here). There are even some notes in the back of this edition (Deluxe Edition) about Roman history. And ancient Roman detective! Dealing with the supernatural! Those are fantastic ideas. But it just... isn't a compelling story, the characters aren't fleshed out enough to care about, and it's not even mostly about Britannia at all.
Unless you're REALLY into fiction about Romans, you can skip this.
For starters, after the first story arc, none of it is actually about or related to Britain. The name stuck around long after it made sense, and that's a bit silly.
I also felt like the story couldn't decide quite where it wanted to be on the presentation of supernatural elements. Which is frustrating--I wanted it to either commit or not, but I don't know if any of the things that appeared made it feel distinctly Roman, and considering this is a story about a "detectioner" (read: detective) in ancient Roman territory I would have liked a Roman flavor to the proceedings.
But the biggest failing to me was that I didn't get much of a grasp on the characters, especially the lead. In the final arc, his narration tells us he can't stop thinking about Achillea, to the point that even his usual lovers don't interest him anymore, and I never got a hint that he even HAD a lover. Or two.
I like the art, the fight scenes are great, and I like the idea of the Vestal Virgins as a religious/political force to be reckoned with (even if I have some heavy issues with their depiction here). There are even some notes in the back of this edition (Deluxe Edition) about Roman history. And ancient Roman detective! Dealing with the supernatural! Those are fantastic ideas. But it just... isn't a compelling story, the characters aren't fleshed out enough to care about, and it's not even mostly about Britannia at all.
Unless you're REALLY into fiction about Romans, you can skip this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews