On the surface, this is an innovative take on the super-hero/dark vigilante formula, thanks to the incorporation of historical fiction elements. We've seen World War II super-hero stuff before, yes, but rarely from this side of the warfront. Ultimately, the 1945 German setting isn't enough to set this apart from a typical Punisher-esque romp of violence. The art is strong, as are the designs, and there are plot elements that are entertaining and intriguing. This is certainly a diverting piece of entertainment, but it's far from fresh. One could even see it as being on the derivative side.
It's 1945, and the Germans are being hammered in their homeland by Allied forces on all sides... Americans above, British and Canadians on the ground, and to the west lie the Russians. Many see that the end of the war is in sight, but others in the Third Reich refuse to accept it. For two investigators in Berlin, just as disconcerting as the bombing of the city and citizenry are the dark actions of a mysterious vigilante, who targets Gestapo officers and concentration camp soldiers for death in the most violent manner possible.
Flint Henry provides the character designs for this property, but the visual storytelling actually falls to past Dixon collaborator Sergio Cariello. I've sen looser pencils from Cariello before and a sketciher look to his exaggerated style. The linework on this book is thicker and tigether, but there's still a grittiness to it that's in keeping with the harsh tone of this combination war/vigilante story. His efforts on Iron Ghost remind me a little of Carlos (Just a Pilgrim) Ezquerra's art or that of Tom (The Spectre) Mandrake.
I appreciated the German perspective of the war. Not all of the German characters are bad guys; the detective heading up the Iron Ghost investigation is a particularly likeable individual. Furthermore, we get to see that the war had its innocent victims on the other side of enemy lines as well. Of course, the evil Nazis are a bit over the top and cliched in concept and design. I did enjoy the police procedural/mystery elements of the plot and script as well.
In the end, it's difficult to discern the foundation of Iron Ghost from that of a typical issue of The Punisher. This is stereotypical homocidal vigilantism storytelling. The brutality and rage at the heart of the title character is all too familiar. The unusual backdrop doesn't seem to provide the writer with anything new to say in the genre. 6/10
