Abominable Glory Review

 

Story by: Martin Hayes
Art by: Chris Askham
Published by: Markosia

Abominable Glory is a rip roaring WW2 story set in the unforgiving cold of the Himalayas revolving around a British rescue mission of a downed plane – that just happened to be carrying vital cargo. That is merely the starting point from which this very effective, War/Horror tale, begins to rapidly unfurl.AbomGlorInt

What you get with this book is a delicious, authentic, war story set among the frozen splendor of the Himalayan mountains, where bullets fly, the body count mounts and the horrors of war pale into insignificance against the backdrop of Abominable terror. The book is in black and white, which works well for the story, the only downside to this is the fact that if some spot color on the blood had been included it may have been a nice effect. Blood spatter on the snow is always a good visual.

The plot is well marshaled by Hayes, and the character development is very effective. On all sides of the conflict, well, mainly with the British and Germans (for reasons evident in the book), you get a real feel for who these people are, what drives them, and their relationships to one another. The actions carried out develop from an organic reaction to the story. The writing from Hayes is spot on. In terms of the story, the only downside for me was the very end of the book – but then I have a strong history in classic war films and I’d guessed how this would play out. Most will not have the same kind of experience so will be greeted by the end and react accordingly.

Chris Askham turns in a decent shift on art duties, handling the various aspects of the story nicely. The action, drama, horror, and avionics, are all managed well. In terms of setting the scene, the setting really helps, almost on its’ own. The desolate mountains, the downed plane, these really lend an air of fatality to proceedings and Chris weaves the story across this backdrop. In summation, Abominable Glory is a neat and tidy war story, reminiscent of classic war takes as found in Commando, while set firmly in the midst of a gory horror event. A very worthwhile book.