Go and buy Rex Mundi

[DavidXBrunt]

'Rex Mundi' is one of my favourite new comics in a long time. It's a tale set in Paris, 1933. But in this world Magic is real and the Catholic church is still all powerful and the inquisition still has Europe in it's grip.

Dr. Sauniere is an arrogant, stubborn physician who can't be bothered playing the political games that might get him ahead in his career. Instead he tends to the poor and needy of the back streets of Paris.

When a knock on the door rouses him from his bed at 1 A.M. he really should have ignored it. When his old friend Father Marin bursts in claiming to be in terrible trouble, that magic is at work in the city and his life is in danger due to the theft of a secret scroll he should have just gone back to bed. Setting out to investigate the case would be foolish in the extreme.

Soon Marin is dead and Sauniere is invovled so deeply that the Inquisition, particularly the enigmatic Brother Moricand, have their eyes on him. Why has his ex-lover Dr. Genevieve Tournon really returned to his life? How do the events of that night tie in with the Duke of Lorraine's attempts to rouse France to a new Crusade to capture the holy war? And who is the dangerous, sorcerous, man in white that has been seen throughout the city?

If Marin wants to survive much longer he must answer these questions, and work out the meaning of Marin's last message to him 'Et in Arcadia Ego'...

It's a cleverly written, nicely drawn comic that has introduced an interesting cast and unusual world. The 1930's fashion, the still highly medieval architecture of Paris, and the high Catholic church icons create a fascinating back drop for an intriguing look at the grail quest story. Also each issue comes with a text feature in the form of excerpts from the newspapers of the world which fleshes out the world. There's also letter cols and pieces from the creators. The team behind this really believe in the book and their effort shows.

Plus, they can pull off the 'good cop in a bad world' schtick, mainly because the lead character is actually flawed and imperfect.

If you want to try the book for free head over to
www.shrunkenheadstudios.com/rexmundi
where you can read the first issue for free. There's also the complete Brother Matthew story, which is another story set in the same world, but seperate from the ongoing comic.

Check it out. It's a great read.

[Richmond Clements]

I thought this was going to be about Robert Rankin...