Image Comics is launching a lot of new series in 2003. If half of them are as good as the new series they've launched in 2002, the comics industry is in for a treat. One of the series that got its launch with a zero issue earlier in 2002 and is now finally getting the follow-up series is Rex Mundi, a gripping story of murder, occultism and human sin in an alternative 1933 Paris where feudal society and sorcery are still going strong. The first issue provides mostly a lot of questions, along with some shocking moments and powerful images, and while there's not a lot revealed about the overall story yet, the questions raised and characters introduced are interesting enough that I can't imagine closing the book and not wanting to see what's next.
Rex Mundi is a difficult book to describe, and it's been my experience that books like that are either completely unreadable except to a small cult audience or some of the freshest and best comics on the scene. Rex Mundi is of the latter variety, striking me as an original premise and mixture of genres and storytelling approaches. While you could classify this as a horror book along the lines of Hellblazer, that's missing the rich detail of the world design, which impacts pretty heavily on the mystery at the center of the book. And you could call this a whodunit mystery, except that I'm just as interested in the characters that will help the investigation and the snapshots of their lives as I am in how Dr. Sauniere solves the crime. In other worlds, this is a genre blend, but it's far more sophisticated than a simple high-concept like "It's the X-Files meets the French Revolution."
The world background of Rex Mundi is being largely underplayed, and I think that's a wise decision. The atmosphere of the world is quite clear in Johnson's artwork and in references to The Inquisition or the treatment of Jews in Paris, and the newspaper segment in the back is a great way to impart some more information about the world that the story takes place in. Instead, the focus is on Dr. Sauniere and the people he meets. Nelson imparts each character, no matter how minor, with some personality and a little backstory, and the result is that the book really comes alive. The suffering of the prostitute is made clear in Sauniere's analysis, and it's impossible not to feel for her. He also does a great job on the weasely innkeeper and on Sauniere's kindly friend Rabbi Albert Maiselles. And it's no small thing that Nelson inserts the names and basic information on each of these characters so smoothly into the narrative, making it accessible without spoon-feeding the readers.
Credit for the characterization of the mysterious man in the white suit must go mostly to Eric Johnson and Jeromy Cox, however, who give the silent killer an impressive amount of ruthless skill in the closing sequence of this first issue. It's clear enough from the gruesome death of the prostitute that the smart (but not notably physically powerful) Sauniere is facing a dangerous adversary, but the demonstration of ability and will in that final sequence really brings it home. This is no surprise, of course, because Johnson and Cox deliver artwork throughout that brings the reader into this world and is simply gorgeous.
Given how professionally the book is written and drawn, I was a bit irritated to find dropped words and typos in the dialogue and the "what has gone before" text, and another pass through the proofreader would certainly help the book immensely. However, that's a fairly minor complaint, and certainly shouldn't put anyone off of the book. This is a fascinating and original idea, expertly carried out, and the buzz it is getting is well-deserved.
