Bookworm Speaks!
Warhammer 40k: Damnation Crusade by Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton.
****
Once again we return to the grim darkness of the far future, following in the footsteps of the illustrious Black Templars Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes.
The Story: The story follows several Space Marines of the Black Templars Chapter in their eternal crusade across the galaxy to purge the Imperium of the mutant, alien, and heretic. Three characters are the focus of the story: Sword Brethren Gerhart is an accomplished fighter who fears he is succumbing to the sin of pride, Recruit Raclaw, who has been chosen to become a Black Templar, takes his first steps into a universe of endless war, and Brother Tankred, a Dreadnought, a mortally wounded Space Marine that has been hardwired into a cybernetic battle suit, as they battle vile foes of the Emperor in the Black Templar’s never ending crusade.
The Good: The fact that its a comic book. The Warhammer 40k novels are spectacular and provide a lot of fruit for the mind’s eye to feast upon, but seeing the Imperium of Man rendered in full color, it is simply a treat.
The artwork is top of the line and the cover art is simply iconic to Warhammer 40,000. Warhammer is known for its energetic and action-packed narratives and the artists do a good job of transcribing it to the visual spectrum.
Warhammer 40,000 is a vast universe with a great amount of lore behind it. So much in fact it can be overwhelming to a beginning reader. Thankfully, the writers provide brief data entries at the beginning of each chapter that briefly describe many of the details of the universe. It is by no means complete but it provides enough material for the beginner. This was very considerate on the part of the writers.
Space Marines are the meat and potatoes of the Black Library and we see them at various stages of their training throughout the novels. In Damnation Crusade, we see a Space Marines training from beginning to end. This is something rarely encountered in fiction and adds another layer of detail to the Astartes and significantly fleshes them out beyond an encyclopedia entry.
The plot is non liner, which will be addressed later, but the story that is being told is where this book shines. The Imperium of Man is a horrible place to live and it is besieged on all sides by enemies that are even worse. But the Space Marines fight on and will not yield. That is the strength of humanity and the message that Bookworm feels, Warhammer 40k is trying to tell with all of its stories. Even against impossible odds, in a hellish galaxy, that never cuts them a break, mankind lives and mankind endures.
The Flaws: Once again we encounter a problematic trend that has suffused the graphic novel medium: the non linear storyline. When reading the whole thing through it becomes obvious why this technique was utilized in order provide the twist at the end (No Spoilers). When it comes full circle the non-linear storyline comes to fruition but when reading it, the story becomes a little confusing. The timeline jumps between the adventures of various Space Marines, and it becomes hard to tell what story is being told at the moment.
There is very little else that can be said is at fault with this volume. Some may find that the sheer guts and glory motif rather tiring but that is a nitpick if nothing else. However, it is the flaw previously mentioned that does prevent Bookworm from giving Damnation Crusade a full five out five.
Final Verdict: Damnation Crusade is a fascinating and thrilling look into one of the most iconic Chapters of the Space Marines and Warhammer 40,000. The artwork is great and the characters are compelling.
The Emperor Protects.
Four out of Five Stars.
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