Review – 13 Coins #1 (Titan Comics)

Publisher: Titan Comics
Writers: Martin Brennan, Michael B. Jackson
Artist: Simon Bisley
Release Date: 22nd October 2014

This being my first introduction to anything from Titan Comics, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I saw the name in our weekly rundown of what we had to review and instantly I was intrigued. I tend to be fascinated by stories that involve the Spiritual Battles that rage between Heaven and Hell. I have read many stories and seen various movies that deal with this concept and a few that have dealt with various renditions of coins and powers they can possess. While reading, I was pleasantly reminded of films such as Prophecy and Legion, but also stories from Novels like the Dresden Files; yet the story still stays fresh and brings yet another take on the coins.

There is a lot that goes down in this first issue from the jump. The opening sequences set the scene and inform those bright enough to pick the series up about what has transpired in Heaven and how it is affecting our world. We are introduced to “The Fallen”, before meeting a few more characters where in all honesty I had to just start putting pieces together and guess at who was who and what was going down. We are introduced to what would appear by context to be a chosen one, and then we are introduced to what I guess would be undercover Angels protecting things here on Earth. As I said, a lot goes down in this issue to set the baseline for this story and even though details get a little unclear at some point it is still a good issue and a good start to what seems will be a great thrill ride.

Even with the somewhat unclear story at points, there is not a bad word I can say at all for the outstanding visuals. Simon Bisley sucks you right into this tale from the first page! His depictions of the battle in Heaven and how he chose to distinguish the Angels from the Fallen are phenomenal. The artwork is very clean and highly detailed and carries a sense of grit and darkness that fit the atmosphere the story creates very well. I’m definitely looking forward to progressing issues of this story to see what plays out and – if I’m honest – just to get another glimpse at these outstanding visuals!

Rating: 4/5.

The writer of this piece was: Shane Hoffman (aka “Hoff”)
You can also find Hoff on Twitter.