Ides of Blood #1-3

Written by Stuart Paul
Art by Christian Duce

I was going to tradewait this series, but when I got the chance to pick up the first three issues at a very low price, I figured I'd give it a shot.  This is a comic that interested me from the first time I saw it solicited, and had it not fallen into the $3.99 price range per issue, I would have gladly checked it out earlier.

This is a Roman vampire comic (Rome meets True Blood?).  It's set at the end of Julius Caesar's reign, in a Rome which has incorporated the vampyres (their spelling) from the Transylvanian region of Dacia.  These vamps were, at first, slaves, but some have now been freed.  As well, many people from the Plebian caste through to the middle classes have paid good money to be turned, seeking immortality.

This has caused the human Romans to have a lot of anxiety about their racial purity and whether or not they'll be able to maintain their purity and direction.  Paul nicely incorporates this backdrop into Brutus and friend's assassination plot.  They scapegoat Gaius Valens, a vampyre who had been Caesar's slave before rising to the ranks of Praetorian and finally Senator.  Now Valens must try to prove his innocence and see that Caesar's killers are brought to justice.

As the series progresses (these three issues make up the first half of it), a few things become clear.  Paul has a good handle on Ancient Rome, and has been able to marry historical fact with his fantasy very nicely.  The story has a lot of potential, and has already had a couple of twists that I didn't expect.  Duce's art works great with this type of book - he draws a very believable Rome.