Rex Mundi #12

In order to keep up with my crazy life (it's full of things like radioactive flying monkeys and such) I'll sometimes post very short, one-product reviews.

Today we have Rex Mundi #12. If you haven't read this series yet, you're missing out. I know I've been missing out, but thanks to finally heeding SBC/CB staffer Nicolas Slayton's advice, I now own the entire series. All the trades. All the recent floppies.

In a nutshell, Rex Mundi takes place in 1933, in a world where the power of the Catholic Church never faltered. There was no Reformation. The American Civil War ended in a stalemate. Europe by the 1930s is still in the same stage our world was back in 1890. Or maybe 1914. Also, magic and monsters are REAL. The Holy Grail is... real? People liken this series to Da Vinci Code, but I feel that's an incredible insult and does this wonderful creation a disservice.

Anyhow, back to issue #12. It's good and very solid. The story has really ramped up from a hardboiled occult-tinged noir detective mystery story to an epic, Europe-spanning struggle which parallels WW1, WW2, Napolean-- all sorts of stuff. I really like how the character of Lorraine has progressed, and everyone else has come along nicely. Character development is usually something we've grown accustomed to falling along the wayside with comics, but not so with Rex Mundi. This book burns slow, but very bright and hot. I don't want to give much away, other than to say the splash page that ends this issue made me cheer over its awesomeness. Man, I haven't read comics this great in a long, long time. You Rex Mundi fans will NOT be disappointed.

And have I mentioned the action has been ratcheted to a fever pitch? Keep it up Team Rex Mundi, keep it up.

This issue immolates five out of six party members, seriously maiming the survivor. He'll never play the fiddle again.

For more information, please visit the Rex Mundi website.