Chimera Brigade #3

   It's certainly not a traditional superhero comic in any sense of the word (although there are superpowers in evidence), but The Chimera Brigade continues to be a lot of fun.

   The only comic book it's similar to is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - but Chimera creates its own characters and reality (rather than building on existing ones), although most of them have a familiar feel about them.

   Set in the early part of the 20th Century, we see various schemes developing - and superpowered individuals are being recruited (or evaluated) for future purposes.

   It's all very clever, sharply written and even subtle at times.

   It also includes some tense moments, as an army tries to subdue a giant, and a strange death threatens a crowd of innocent civilians - and the rescue is even stranger.

   It's a series loaded with imagination and unexpected twists, and I have no idea where it goes from here.

   Isn't it great?

Grade: A-

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Chimera Brigade #1

   If you're mourning the fact that stories featuring the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are only published sporadically, this series might be a good way to scratch that itch.

   The Chimera Brigade is set in 1938 (though storylines stretch back into World War I). It's a different version of that time, as familiar (though renamed) charters populate the story.

   Some are historical in nature (including Marie Curie's daughter), other are pulp-based (Doc Savage and the Shadow), and some are horror derived (including a bug-based character) and some are right out of comic books (look for a Man who looks like he might be made of Steel).

   The comic by writers Serge Lehmen and Fabrice Colin and artist  Gess is actually a reprint of a foreign edition (originally published as La Brigade Chimerique).

   It's a lot of fun (if a bit obtuse in places - or maybe I'm the obtuse one), and it sets up a fast-approaching conflict by powered individuals on a continental stage.

   I enjoyed this issue, a pseudo-historical adventure crossed with a small army of fictional characters. It works as a story and as a collection of Easter Eggs.

Grade: A-

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