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Caligula #1 Comic Review - www.impulsegamer.com -

Story 7.5
Art 8.0
Value    
Total 7.8
Publisher: Avatar Press
Release Date: 31/03/2011
Reviewer: Troy Mayes

7.8


Caligula #1

Avatar Press strap on a pair of bloody Roman sandals as they traipse through the rich legacy of the Roman Emperor Caligula.

In David Lapham’s NSFW story Caligula and his fellow Roman nobles are depraved, vile and sadistic characters. There is no romance here in the depiction of one of history’s greatest civilizations, only sin.

Issue 1 plays out as a fairly simple revenge book. Told through the eyes of wronged citizen Junius his family is brutally murdered and raped while he's away. He loses everything so he decides to embark on a suicide mission to get revenge against the man who did it, Emperor Caligula.

While the story structure is nothing new it is the world that David Lapham has created that draws you in. You find yourself turning the page just to see what disgusting thing will greet you next. One problem is I didn't quite find myself sympathising with our young hero, Junius, I was too enamored with Caligula, his cronies and Rome itself to care. Also in some of the write-ups I’ve read the horror background of Lapham was really amped up but I didn’t quite feel that until the last page, which definitely sent some chills down my spine.

At times the dialogue is odd and laughable, like when Caligula dresses down a whore he has just caught in a bizarre game of sex hide and go seek, and other times it just doesn’t make sense like the laugh of Caligula's crony 'hyah hyah hyah' and at another time ‘nyah nyah.’ I mean what the hell is that?

The art is strong with the painted pages capturing Rome beautifully and the muted tones act as a highlight for the liberal, dark lashings of blood. The only issue with the art is it concentrates too much on what's happening close up that many people not too far off in the distance are faceless blobs. Still the painted style does a really good job of capturing Rome.

All in all Caligula #1 is something of a guilty pleasure comic to be read alone so you don't feel bad for enjoying every tormented moment of it. If you liked the HBO series Rome or Starz Spartacus then you'll love Caligula.






 
 



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