April Book Club Review

I am Legion

Average Rating : 7.9

I am Legion is the English translation of the French series of the same name, Je suis Legion. The story takes place during the second World War and blends both historical figures and supernatural beings into a tale of espionage and betrayal.

For we are Many

The story revolves around the Legion Project, a top secret Nazi initiative to use a mysterious little girl named Ana to create the perfect army.  Along with the supernatural story surrounding the project I am Legion also follows real and fictional characters from all sides of the war as they fight for freedom and plot to over throw the Nazi party.

“ I liked the historical aspect, it was a European perspective not an American one” - Ray

 

Nazi Vampires

In the opening of the story we are get our first glimpse of  a monster of Romanian legend the Strigoi, who are a form of vampire whose blood gives them the power to take over or merge with any living creature. The Legion Project revolves around a little girl named Ana, a Strigoi, who uses her blood to control soldiers and animals in perfect unison allowing them to achieve impossible goals.

“Pretty original vampires, the mind control was really cool” - Matt

The project begins to attract attention from both the British  and Germany governments some members of which are also plotting to kill Hitler as part of Operation Valkyrie . At this point the story can become a bit hard to follow as there are a multitude of interweaving plots and plans taking place throughout Europe which feature several characters who are very similar in appearance or are double agents working multiple angles.

“There were stories with stories “ - Keenan

Eventually the many lines of the story come together in a series of unbelievable truths and bloody battles that leave few men standing. Despite the somewhat confusing middle the story flowed perfectly into a satisfying ending that both resolves the many plots and leaves the reader wondering what would come next.

Artwork

I am Legion featured the artwork of John Cassaday and left many of us eager to get to another of his projects slated for the Book Club’s August Anniversary. The overall look of the book was very cinematic and featured pages like the one bellow that allows the reader a deeper understanding of how the Strigoi are connected without the need for long explanations.

“There was lots of movement, it really grabs your attention” - Gabriel

Some of the effects made following the plot a bit difficult as there were sections of the  book where the only clue that the story had completely changed locale was a change in overall color scheme of the background that left you flipping back a page to make sure you didn’t miss something.

All things considered the artwork was top notch, each panel was crisp , detailed, and colourful. Although some pages featured more than 10 separate panels the overall looks was always very polished and never too crowded.

“One of my favorite artists at the peak of his work” - Remi

Summary

All things considered I am Legion was an excellent read. The story's fresh take on vampires combined with  real settings and people made for a great Nazi occultism story. Despite the fact that there are no shortage of World War 2 stories out their I am Legion had a fresh distinctly European perspective which sets it apart from the multitude of American stories.  The plot had so much to it that it seemed almost restricted by the medium and most  of us saw great potential for this story to translate into a movie or even into a novel to expand out on the many subplots. If you like supernatural Nazis (and lets be honest who doesn’t?) this book is a definite must read.

“I love Nazi books, they’re the people you love to hate” - Colin

Ratings

Picked the book : Mathieu - Rating 9.5

“ Both author and artist are really into film making and it shows.”

Harshest Critic: Scott - Rating 6

“ I had a hard time getting into it, it seemed to long.”

Besting Rating:  Mathieu / Keenan - Rating 9.5

Next Months selection : Lucifer

Pick up a copy and join us May 30th