Hadrian’s Wall was a real life defensive wall in Britannia with construction starting around 122 AD. The wall went from the Irish Sea all the way across to the North Sea and marked the most northern limit of the Roman Empire. Was it built to keep out barbarian hordes? Establish a border to enable control of immigration, smuggling and customs? Historians are still trying to unravel some of the mysteries of Hadrian’s Wall.
In Image’s new 8 issue limited series titled Hadrian’s Wall the action takes place in space on a spaceship named after that Roman wall in Britain. Way back in 1985 the Cold War between the USA and the USSR (Soviet Russia) ended peacefully but not before nuclear bombs were dropped in New York City and Moscow. These two superpowers focused on colonizing outer space and one hundred years later there is a renewal of tensions, this time between the largest space colony on the planet Theta and the home world of Earth.
“When an astronaut on HADRIAN’S WALL is murdered, pill-popping detective Simon Moore is dispatched to investigate the ship’s crew… including his own ex-wife. But if Simon’s not careful, what he finds could make the interstellar Cold War go red hot.” Simon is basically a washed up investigator that is asked to rubber stamp the death as accidental, cash in on a nice pay day and be on his way. But things don’t add up even before he gets on the ship. The ex-wife calls him up and demands he doesn’t take the job. The autopsy is amateurish at best. The Captain of the ship is anything but cooperative. The questions Simon has about the incident far out weight the answers.
Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel and Rod Reis are the same creative team that brought us last years’ excellent series C.O.W.L. about unionized Superheroes. Having read the first two issues of Hadrian’s Wall I find the same compelling storytelling that made C.O.W.L. such a good read. There is a real Film Noir detective feel to the book and the mystery seems interesting enough to want to follow the series. Rod Reis’ art reminds me a lot of Phil Noto but a tad little less polished and refined. Colours are appropriately moody and the art overall suits the story very well.
Being a limited series I think it will read better as a single trade paperback rather than in monthly form so I’ll be looking for this in a collected volume next year.
Title: Hadrian’s Wall | Publisher: Image Comics
Writers: Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel | Artist: Rod Reis
Price: $3.99
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