Originally published in 2004 in four issues, LIGHT BRIGADE is a tale of World War II by Peter J. Tomasi and drawn by Peter Snejbjerg.
It opens during the battle in Belgium in the winter of 1944. Having seen Band of Brothers I quickly understood how miserable the characters must have been. The main character is Chris Stavros and he wants to go home more than anyone, his wife was just killed in a car accident and his son is alone. Stavros has pretty much decided there is no hop and no God, he is apathetic and distracted.
From the opening page we know something else is going on and the soldiers soon discover what when they are attacked by Nazi soldiers that can’t die. There is a battle being fought that goes beyond the scope of man, a battle between angles and fallen angels. Both sides are looking for the sword of God, and the fallen want to use it to storm heaven. The American soldiers discover that one of their own is actually the centurion who killed Jesus, and he walks the Earth till he can redeem himself. Looks like it might be his time.
Eventually all forces converge on a monastery where the most holy of relics are kept for a fight to the finish. And it’s a great fight.
Tomasi did a wonderful job of making this interesting and filling in details with out being preachy or or boring. He fills in the details in a way that doesn’t even interupt the flow of the story. I also love the art by Snejbjerg, I loved him on Starman and he’s even better here. This works as just a weird war tale, but it also works on a supernatural level as well and I think fans of either will enjoy this a lot. I see this as a book I’ll re-read just as i re-watch Band of Brothers once a year. And while the story did end, i really would love more like it.
