It’s like they’ve been hit with supernatural cosmic rays…
Creative Staff:
Story: Victor Gischler
Art: Tazio Bettin
What They Say:
When the motley crew of Washington, Franklin, and Revere discover a sinister plot to enslave the free world, they must use their newfound powers to strike back—but not before they engage in battle with the spectral force of America’s first conquerors!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Order of the Forge had an interesting first installment, albeit one that was a little all over the place in trying to establish things so it could get to the story it wanted to tell, but it provided a fun alternate supernatural history blended into the time and characters of George Washington and friends. Seeing the curse and blessing that he got and then realizing that it ended up causing the others in his small group to gain abilities as well has basically given us an old school superhero team of sorts, and that now has them firmly on the path doing what must be done to save the colonies for the King. It’s comical when you break it down in some ways, but I have to admit that the feel of it while reading is almost infectious and fun.
With George having shown what he’s capable of with the axe, and having done it in a way that has it expanding to the rest, we now have our core team of four that’s all powered up. George has his axe and the curse side of not being able to lie. Paul Revere’s horse Guillotine is now pretty much a speedy demon horse, and Benjamin Franklin has had his mind expanded in a way that has opened up the universe to him with what he can whip up. And Kate also reveals some abilities as well, though hers are realized later in an action sequence as she’s gained some incredible skill and athleticism. It’s kind of silly in its own way, but there’s a charm to its simplicity as the group comes together in order to take the map that Hammond has and was bragging about to Drumknott and ensuring that his plan to get the secret viking vessel and take over the colonies fails.
See? Simple.
What we get with this book is the exploration of their abilities a bit and some fun interactions between them. Ben is definitely fun to watch as he gets caught up in his creations, but is prescient in what he needs for the moment before it happens. There’s some good action material for Paul to deal with as Drumknott has some savage beasts to try and use to track them when Hammond realizes what’s been stolen and who’s responsible for it all. But the most fun I had was in seeing the way Kate and George ended up getting closer together, even if it went for the old cliche of getting stuck in the rain and changing out of wet clothes. With George’s inability to lie, she’s off put by it at first but then realizes she’s intrigued by it and uses it to her advantage to see just how truthful he is about things. That the two almost get intimately involved works surprisingly well as the atmosphere has a mix of fun and sultry that surprises even with its comical tones.
In Summary:
With the general plan of stopping Hammond from his ambitions laid out and making it clear who the core group will be made up of, this issue essentially moves us right along and does so at a good pace. Having a straightforward goal set, that can have its own twists and turns, makes it easily accessible. Providing the core group with abilities due to what George is doing does take it into your traditional team/superhero leanings, but it’s fun to see these characters at younger ages getting caught up in it all and wanting to see the way it impacts others piece of history going forward. There’s a lot of charm with this book so far, well matched by the artwork, and though I was a bit wary of the first issue with some of its structural issues, this one paves the way for a much smoother and more enjoyable read, making me excited to see what’s coming next rather than just curious.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 27th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
