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I was pleasantly surprised by Britannia, the new graphic novel (now in trade paperback) from Peter Milligan. Recently not all my graphic novel experiences have been so good, so my expectations were not so high, but this turned out to be without reason.

Set during the rule of Nero both in Rome and in Britannia it follows Antonius Axia, who is called the first detective. He doesn’t do that much of detecting, but since he Sherlocks his way through life by being observing I guess the title is not that far off. However, it is mostly a horror story, so the detective-part wasn’t big enough for my liking. It is still quite a complete story in the limited amount of pages.

What I did like was that every issue was followed by a short essay on different aspects of the stories, like the Vestal virgins, Nero and life in Roman Britain.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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What if the College of Vestals, the priestesses of Vesta who were keepers of the sacred flame in Ancient Rome, was more powerful than commonly thought. What if part of their ongoing mission to keep Rome safe was to also guard against arcane and eldritch threats to the Empire? What if they used their behind-the-scenes influence with the Emperor Nero to recruit former centurion and current 'Detectioner' Antonius Axia and send him to the distant province of Britannia to investigate the possibility of such a rising unnatural threat? Its an intriguing premise and while this short 4-issue story arc perhaps promises more than it delivers, I still enjoyed veteran author Peter Milligan's alternate take on Imperial Rome. Its a somewhat unusual title for Valiant comics to publish, given that they are better known for their shared-universe superhero comics and perhaps something one might have expected to see published by Image or Vertigo back in their glory days. But if Valiant have decided to take a chance on an unusual and imaginative title out of left field then I'm not complaining. I'll be looking forward to reading the next trade. ( )

A supernatural story during the Nero times of the Roman Empire. The historical wrapping is well done and credible, and it captures very well the remoteness, superstitions and "frontier" feeling of Britannia. For a roman soldier, going there was like going to the end of the world to an unfriendly and mysterious environment.

The use of the color, the contrast between the warm rome and candle lit tents of the roman camp agains the dark damp foggy Britannia fits great with the story. ( )