Now before you double check the date on the post and think we’re going retro (or too far into the future), I want to clarify this is a new comic book title in the Assassin’s Creed mythos being offered to us by Titan Books and the writing team of Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery.
Assassin’s Creed issue 1 takes us into the world of Charlotte “Char” de la Cruz, fiercely intelligent, bit of a conspiracy nut and always bouncing around between jobs. In Char’s free time she likes to play around with Abstergo Industry’s Helix system and peruse websites that likely talk Area 51, contrails and an ongoing war between two secret organizations called ‘The Brotherhood” and the “Templars.”
Click for full size.
If you haven’t put it together most of Assassin’s Creed 1 follows the modern day plotline of the franchise ala Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman, Daniel Cross and the ‘Unnamed Abstergo Employees’ of the video game titles. Usually I flinch when I hear we’re going to be spending a significant amount of time in the modern day world of Assassin’s Creed, it’s simply not what I signed up for, I enjoy making history my playground. However the writers of Assassin’s Creed bring Char to life with a charm and charisma other franchise protagonists often lack. She’s witty, she’s current, she’s down for an adventure and unlike the emo Desmond Miles she seems to really want to be an assassin. The fact we get to follow a Latina heroine for the first time in the story is just an added bonus for me.
If Charlotte appears to be pretty broke than the Assassin Brotherhood is flat busted. Living out of a shack in the Salton Sea with an animus that seems to be made from old landfill parts, it’s a far cry from the Assassins that lived in the Italian castles and Colonial Cays of the past. It’s a nice detail, as this group is meant to be on the verge of extinction and all. Some of the modern assassins were a tad by the numbers, your hacker guy, your angry tough girl, though I expect this was for the sake of not crowding Char’s characterization in the first issue and will be keeping my fingers crossed they’ll be better developed in future issues.
Click for full size.
Char’s ancestor does promise to be fairly interesting, for the few panels we get of him anyway. Tom Stoddard is an assassin active during the Salem Witch Trials. First off, Char’s not cool with the fact her memories transition her into a white male (this, lore wise, makes sense, the series has stressed the fact Assassins tend to disconnect from ancestors the opposite sex of them). Second her ancestor seems to be incredibly selfish, he doesn’t prevent the death of a presumed ‘witch’ when presented the opportunity. Yet another clash with Char’s strong sense of justice, and a direct reason she desynchronizes with him. By the way, ever wonder what happens to an Animus user who desynchronizes? Assassin’s Creed shows us and it’s not pretty.
While I found the characterization pretty solid the story followed a pretty straight forward path. Char is living like many Millenials, day to day and frustrated. Lucky or unlucky for her she’s more important than she thinks. The Templar’s want her. So do the Assassin’s. While the story does its best to mitigate exposition there are pockets of story there that you can tell are just to catch us up to the world of ‘Assassin’s Creed.’ We spend a decent amount of time with Char, which is great for her character, but leaves little time for the driving conflict of the world or her co-star and ancestor Tom Stoddard. However as an introduction to the Assassin’s Creed comic this is a strong start.
Click for full size.
The art is where this title falters a bit. While the action is always straight forward and clear, sometimes a bit less attention is paid to a person’s facial structure and expressions. While Char can be nicely drawn one second she can look a bit strange and uneven the next. It’s not exactly stand out artwork either from the world of western comic books. It does portray the realistic world of Assassin’s Creed (and even in the video game series I’ve had trouble with certain artistic choices), but it lacks a bit of ‘fun’ sometimes. There’s not a lot of detail paid to the Assassin’s robes either, from the modern day cell members to Char’s cowboy and Salem Witch ancestors, I couldn’t pick anyone out from a lineup of people on the street. That said I did like Stoddard’s tricorn hat and Char’s funky hairstyle… When the colorist remembered to illustrate it.
As far as a franchise adaptation goes I think Assassin’s Creed is an overall strong piece of work. I’m not entirely sure it’s going to attract anyone that’s not a series diehard, but Del Col and McCreery have given a much needed shot of life to this mythos. Char with her chaotic good alignment and adventurous attitude recalls some of my favorite assassins such as Ezio and Aveline. It also reminds me of what I found exciting in the original franchise, wanting to see Desmond’s arc from every day loser to assassin badass. I look forward to watching Char’s journey into a full fledged heroine and how the writers decide to turn the Salem Witch Trial’s inside out. If your curiosity is piqued or looking to whet your Assassin’s Creed appetite before Syndicate comes along this title will be hitting shelves October 14th.
