Writers: Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton
Artist: Lui Antonio
Company: Boom! Studios

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.

The world of Warhammer 40,000 (or 40K, as fans know it) is a bleak one. Humanity has spread across the galaxy, and lives under the dominion of the Emperor, who is both god and man. A number of other races claim this galaxy as their home too, and conflict is constant. The deadliest warriors mankind has to offer, the bio-engineered Space Marines, are at the forefront of every fight, organized into Chapters more reminiscent of warrior cults than armies.

Damnation Crusade focuses on one such Chapter, the Black Templars. Unlike most Chapters, who have a single world from which they pull new members, the Black Templars go from world to world in the Imperium, finding the greatest fighters among the natives and taking them to be augmented and trained. This allows writers Abnett and Edginton, both veteran comics authors, to show the two sides of the Space Marine- the seasoned veteran and the new blood.

In fact, they even go beyond that to show a third perspective. Though much advanced technology exists in 40K, it is often seen through the eyes of mysticism. Such is the case with the Dreadnought, an enormous machine of war controlled by the life-essence of a once-dying Space Marine. In Dreadnought form, a Space Marine can live on for centuries after his body dies, but he exists truly for nothing but combat. With the addition of the Dreadnought, we see the ending of the cycle that the new recruit is beginning.

Abnett and Edginton do a good job of getting across the feel of the 40K universe and the odd fanaticism of the Space Marines, though I would have liked to see a litlle less time spent on the new recruit fighting in an arena and more cool Black Templar action. What really sells this book, though, is the combination of Lui Antonio’s art and JM Ringuet’s coloring. Antonio has the essence of the Games Workshop house style, an over the top dirty painterly look, down pat, and panel to panel storytelling is especially strong. Ringuet’s color palette, a subdued but still rich set of choices, brings the artwork to life.

There’s a lot to explore in the 40K universe, and Boom! is making a very good start with this issue. If this level of quality continues, I can see myself picking this title (or future 40K mini-series) up for a long time to come.