Advanced Review: Sledgehammer 44 #2 (of 2)

With so much talk revolving around a certain movie that will have numerous suits of armor featured, I thought it imperative to focus on a different “iron” tale this week. One that features a single suit of armor, Hyperborean armor — the Iron Prometheus!

Mike Mignola and John Arcudi have created their own niche within the confines of tales regarding heroes donning suits of armor in order to save the day. Their tale may have similar overviews with Marvel’s blockbuster hero but that’s where the differences cease. Their tale, one rife with Nazis, gunplay and Mignola’s classic take on tales of the ethereal, transcends that of just a super hero tale. It is a story of true heroism and the internal anguish sometimes caused by it.

Rendered expertly by artist Jason Latour (Django Unchained, B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth: The Pickens County Horror), this issue follows a group of GIs that have just evaded certain death at the hands of the Nazi regime and are now trying to protect their immobile metal savior. As the action sequences berate you, it is easy to get caught up in the moment and believe that you are just reading another WWII battle book. Then, you remember Mike Mignola is a master word smith and the tale becomes something so much more than the sum of it’s parts. It becomes a sad, insightful look at what it takes to be a hero. It is not the suit nor the range of powers that can be derived from it, it is not the man that wields it but, it IS the heart and soul of that man that makes him a hero. It is also the sacrifice that is made in order to overcome fantastic odds for the betterment of the greater good that defines him. These are the aspects that will resonate with you as you complete this fantastic book about sacrifice and brotherhood. 

Mignola and Arcudi have created one of the finest new heroes within the pages of this book. It is a character that I hope to find many years from now, still donning the cover of his own book, in my local shop. This book is simply sublime!