Ex Occultus is a new ongoing series from Saint James Comics, written by Robert James Russel, with artwork by Sandra Lanz.

Ex Occultus is a globetrotting, serialized epic combining elements of Indiana Jones, H. P. Lovecraft and The X-Files as it follows the exploits of adventurer and fortune-hunter Francis Wakefield, the gruff and grizzled Englishman with a tortuous past, and his protégé, a young man only known as Hollander, as they journey through the arcane in search of treasures and fortune, righting wrongs as they go.

The series is released in a somewhat unconventional format, that is, as a series of one-shot comics, each featuring a different adventure of the series’ protagonist Francis Wakefield. The comic is first being serialized online, and then the weekly pages from each adventure are being collected together, and published as a one-shot. So far, the first adventure of Francis Wakefield has been released in print as ‘ Badge of Langavat’, and the second adventure, ‘Seal of Soloman’ is currently being serialized online. The series is also supported by a variety on online exclusive content, such as ‘Wakefield’s Journal’, which is presented as the handwritten journals of  Francis Wakefield.

The Story

‘Badge of Langavat’ is the first comic in the Ex Occultus series, and finds Francis Wakefield, and fellow occult hunter Fergus Duff in Scotland, in the year 1864.

The pair find themselves investigating the disappearance of children from nearby villages. Several villagers have reported that they saw wolves that walk like men, come in the night and abduct the children. These reports lead Wakefield to suspect the involvement of the Langavat Clan, an old family who used to own much of this land. According to legend, the Langavats tried to steal the bride of a very powerful druid, and for this crime the druid cursed them all to come back from the grave as Werewolves.

This line of inquiry leads them to the old forgotten castle of the Langavat clan, where they discover their worst fear, a den of blood curdling Werewolves, ready to sacrifice the children to lift the curse on their clan. The hunters haven’t come unprepared though, as covered in silver mail, and armed with silver bullets, they fight for their very lives and souls.

The Rating

I’m rather a sucker for occult investigation stories, with the obvious examples being Hellboy, B.P.R.D., and the other Mignola-verse stories. The problem though, is that Mike Mignola has written so many stories now that he’s almost used up all the old myths and legends. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve picked up a new occult-based series and discovered that the plot is incredibly similar to something that Mignola did in Hellboy many years ago. This is usually no fault of the writers involved, but it’s hard to write a story with a character like Baba Yaga in it now, because Mignola already did it, and he did it so damn well.

Robert James Russel has tapped into a hitherto unknown resource though, Hebridean Mythology and Folklore, or more specifically, the legend of a family of Werewolves that are said to occupy an island on Loch Langavat;  although long deceased, the legend states that they promised to rise if their graves were disturbed. Robert James Russel takes this snippet of information, the mere whisper of a myth, and work it up into a fully fleshed out action/adventure story that Mike Mignola himself would be proud to put his name to.

The artwork on the series is by Sandra Lanz, who produces some really wonderful work. It’s an incredibly busy script, with a massive amount of panels per page, so Lanz has her work cut out for her! However, one problem this produces is that Lanz’s artwork has a slightly uneven quality to it, with some panels being incredibly intricate and detailed, but a few others ending up looking like rushed rough sketches. There is no doubt though that she is an incredibly talented artist, and pieces like the full page spread of the exploding Werewolf, and the gorgeous painted cover can attest to that. I think though, that if the action was paced a bit better, with less panels on each page, her artwork would have been a little less rushed, and have more chance to shine.

One other thing that the comic could have done with is a more solid introduction to the characters. I don’t think either of the main characters is named once in the story, and the fact that they are occult detectives is never mentioned. This is likely to do with the online nature of the series, and doesn’t hurt the enjoyment of the story, but without prior knowledge of the further adventures of Wakefield, one is left wondering which of these characters the story is about.

Don’t let that put you off though, because Ex Occultus: Badge of Langavat is a great fun read, and is well worth your time and money!  This comic is highly recommended for fans of occult mysteries such as Hellboy & B.P.R.D., and even gives Mignola himself a run for his money! The story also holds the accolade of being one of the best Werewolf stories I’ve read in years. Zombies and Vampires seem to be getting all the attention these days, perhaps Werewolves are ready for a come back!

Rating:

To find out more about Ex Occultus series, and to read free online content head on over to http://whoissaintjames.com/2009/02/25/ex-occultus

To buy a physical copy of the comic, head to http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2407&CDpath=1, where you can grab a copy for $2.99!

To buy a PDF copy of the comic, head to http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=64123, where you can grab a copy for $0.89!

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