Written by: Romain Sardou, Carlos Rafael Duarte
Illustrations: Romain Sardou, Carlos Rafael Duarte
Coloring: Romain Sardou, Carlos Rafael Duarte
Publisher: Le Lombard
Maxentius Boek 2: De Augusta – Comic Book Review
After the bloody Nika uprising, things have gone quiet in the Roman Empire and emperor Justinianus and Theodora have begun rebuilding the city. The once glorious city should show no signs of this betrayal of the people anymore. While the last issue concluded with Maxentius distancing himself from Theodora, as she simply uses everyone for her own personal means, of course, she doesn’t take no for an answer and thus this issue will revolve almost entirely around her, the woman who used her own looks and body to go from a widow’s daughter to the empress.
With the rebuilding of the city underway, the emperor is already plotting to strengthen his power even further by conquering the city of Carthage. While this is no easy task, the Roman forces have the element of surprise at their disposal, at least until Theodora makes a public announcement by making it into a ‘holy war’ rather than a thirst for power. Nonetheless, Theodora is going to war herself, at least a symbolical war with the people. As the populace dislikes her for being a ‘whore’, they are opposing her every chance they get. She then decides to make a public appearance at a select amount of cities to punish the rich who have been abusing the poor, thus gaining the love of the gross of the riffraff. To accomplish this task she requires the aid of Maxentius, who is doing his very best to avoid her. Of course, she persuades him, forcing him to leave his wife Anastasia, Theodora’s sister, and his son behind. His wife is clearly tired of this happening over and over again.
Even though the previous issue revolved a bit more around suspense, and the chance of a bloodbath occurring if Maxentius didn’t act fast enough, this second album takes a more political turn. While there’s still some fighting and a sufficient amount of action sequences, it feels like it’s more about the characters and their choices, rather than the blood that is being spilled. Thanks to this Romain Sardou and Carlos Rafael Duarte show that this story is more than a mindless sequence of action scenes, but also has proper character development.
The quality of the illustrations remains the same, where small inconsistencies can be spotted. Certain scenes are better worked out than other, granting them an empowering effect compared to the rest. Nonetheless, things are rather detailed from start to finish, and everything is accompanied by dark toned colors, with an ‘old’ touch to them.
Conclusion
Maxentius Boek 2 De Augusta takes a shift towards a more political story, and even though this issue might revolve more around Theodora’s campaign, it also shows how Maxentius battles his inner demons. While the action shifts more to the background, things still look quite promising for this series.
Maxentius Boek 2: De Augusta - Comic Book Review,
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