Omnitarium is a four issue comic book miniseries from Ronin Studios. The series is created & written by Jamie Gampbell, with artwork by J.C. Grande, and lettering/design by Bernie Lee.

Omnitarium is a period horror story, set in both the late 18th and late 19th century. The story tells the tale of the infamous black magician, Lucius Moonheart, and his attempt to reclaim life and re-enter our world nearly one hundred years on from his hanging. Using the misery and sorrow of those people condemned to hang in the titular Victorian prison, the only person that’s stands between Moonheart and success is Inquisitor Blutstein, the man who originally caught and condemned him to his death.

The story begins in 1772, in a small island, of the coast of Northern Ireland. We open on a scene of townspeople gathered around the Gallows, desperately waiting to see today’s hanging, and crying out for blood. One of the men meeting his fate on the end of the rope this morning is Lucius Moonheart, an infamous black magician, who has eluded capture for many years. In attendance is the Lord Inquisitor, a man named Blutstein, who is the one who finally took Moonheart down.

The Gallows scene is interspersed with snippets of a scene depicting Moonstone’s capture. Moonstone, it seems, was not taken easily, and Blutstein lost many of his best men in the attempt.

Back at the gallows, Moonstone calls the Lord Inquisitor over to him, and before the boards are dropped, he vows his vengeance upon this land and it’s people, even from beyond the grave. He really means it too, as when the boards are pulled, his neck doesn’t break, and it takes over 3 hours for the life to drain out of him. However, when they cut him down, they find that he’s still not dead, forcing Blutstein to bring him to a much more bloody end!

The story then jumps forward to the year 1868, and we find ourselves in the newly-built Pentansly Gaol in North London. The Gaol is an experimental facility, run by a Mr. Miller, who this morning finds himself escorting a group of benefactors around the Prison grounds. The Prison consists of two parts, the first being a relatively open area, where debtor can work off the money they owe; and the second being a high security are for more dangerous criminals.

It is in this second area a surgeon named Doctor Livesay is performing experimental operations on deceased inmates. His recent autopsies have all indicated strange growths appearing inside the bodies of the inmates, not tumours, but more like another organ was trying to grow in the other one’s place, like another body was trying to grow inside the other one…

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The initial premise of the story, that of a dark magician taking revenge from beyond the grave, is a little clichéd, but sometimes playing with clichés can be fun, and Jamie Campbell works wonders with this one. Campbell produces a really nice script here, with interesting characters, good plotting, and great dialogue. The storytelling is really strong, with very little use of exposition (I hate exposition), and he seems really comfortable with letting the art tell certain parts of the story, which is the sign of a great comic writer.

The artwork by J.C. Grande is also incredibly impressive, with his nice clean linework and confident atmospheric inking. Grande proves to be a very versatile artist, with a great handle on anything that Campbell’s script throws at him. He covers many things in this one comic that even established artists tend to shy away from, like crowd scenes, buildings of various architectural styles, and even feet (many artists hate to draw feet). Best of all is Grande’s ability to draw fantastic facial expressions to help convey the way the characters are feeling, which is something I find trips up many burgeoning comic artists. My favourite piece of art would have to be the very first page of the comic, showing Moonheart being escorted to the gallows. The composition on this scene is just brilliant, with the center of the page being taken up by a swinging noose, surrounded by flashes of the crowds reaction to this hulking brute that is being marched in front of them.

Omnitarium #1 is a strong debut issue, which starts out with a concept that’s perhaps not the freshest, but does some unique and interesting things with it. Both Campbell and Grande bring their A-game to this release, to produce a really professional feeling comic with an interesting storyline, engaging characters and terrific artwork! Future issue of Omnitarium promise to go beyond this initial concept, to reveal deeper mysteries, and more enticing secrets. I’ll definitely be sticking around to find out more!

Rating:

To find out more about Omnitarium head on over to http://monkeypipestudios.blogspot.com/

To buy a copy of the comic, head to http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2964, where you can grab a copy for $3.50!

Omnitarium is a title associated with Indy Comic Book Week on December 30th, to find out more about this, go to http://indycomicbookweek.blogspot.com/, or check out my feature on the event here

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