Graveyard Of Empires #1: REVIEW
Graveyard Of Empires #1
Written by: Mark Sable
Artwork by: Paul Azaceta
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: June 05, 2011
List Price: $2.99
Rating: 
It’s always nice to see a comic that breaks out of the traditional superhero mold. I went into Graveyard of Empires #1 with the expectation of reading a modern day war comic, a genre once thriving in the mainstream comic biz that has slowly evaporated once the Second World War, Korea and Vietnam receded into the past. While the slow burn plot and character development throughout this first issue was fitting for a tale of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, the last page reveal was dramatically off putting and soured an otherwise well done war story.
Writer Mark Sable packs this issue with plenty of military lingo and the day in and day out procedural feel of the comic marks it out as a real slice of life into the world of soldiers stationed abroad. While the plot is meandering, taking turns between exploring soldier/civilian relationships, suicide attacks and the rules of engagement, character development is a tad skewed. Except for one character, mainly due to his hyper violent nature, everyone else in this issue appears largely interchangeable. The quick turnaround in causalities and replacements also aggravates this and prevents the reader from getting sense of who they are supposed to be invested in.
Paul Azaceta’s art is well suited for the routine and monotony of army life while still being able to capture scenes of violence and gunfire. His work is very grounded and compliments the book’s tone.
While I won’t spoil the last page, the radical departure from the thirty-odd pages preceding it is jarring enough that the comic crumbles. It transports Graveyard of Empires from a topical and contemporary view of the complex relationship of American soldiers abroad to just another comic on the stands.
