Peter Milligan is back with a third series about ancient Roman detective… excuse me… ancient Roman “detectioner” Antonius Axia. Britannia: Lost Eagles of Rome will send Axia into the forest of Tottenwald to retrieve the lost eagle standards of three Roman detachments that were killed by barbarians. Hmmm… if memory serves, there was a real incident like that and the Romans were rumored to have been sacrificed to the local gods and possibly eaten. Yes, that does sound like the basis for a Britannia arc. Robert Gill joins Milligan as artist for this one.
Official PR follows:
Valiant is proud to announce BRITANNIA: LOST EAGLES OF ROME, the beginning of an ALL-NEW EPIC SERIES retreading the courageous steps of history’s first detective! On July 25th, Valiant’s sold-out descent into the horrors of the ancient world returns with A BLOODSTAINED JUMPING-ON POINT from legendary comics master Peter Milligan (Detective Comics) and Harvey Award-nominated artist Robert Gill (BOOK OF DEATH) as “detectioner” Antonius Axius launches into an otherworldly mystery of monsters, magic, and conspiracy at the boundaries of human understanding…
“This story certainly builds on and adds to the two stories that have gone before it,” writer Peter Milligan told SyFy Wire. “I wanted to give a greater sense of the sheer scope of the Roman world, the Roman empire. In the first story, we see its northern border, Britain. In the second, we see its home turf. But in LOST EAGLES OF ROME, we expand eastwards, and see how the empire encompassed Egypt, too.”
“To be able to draw monsters and demons and Ancient Rome all in one book is such a ridiculously exciting thing for me, but to have all that infused with Peter’s talent for incorporating deeper psychological themes and more complex storytelling just makes the whole thing that much more appealing to work on,” artist Robert Gill added. “This definitely isn’t a superhero book, and that’s exactly what I’m in the mood for right now.”
The Roman standard – the eagle borne at the front of each Roman legion – was more than just a symbol of the soldiers that carried it… It was a symbol of Rome itself, the ultimate embodiment of the empire’s power…
But now, in the mist-shrouded Germanic forest of Tottenwald, the unthinkable has happened: A rampaging barbarian horde has crushed three of Rome’s most highly skilled detachments in battle… and captured their mighty Roman eagles.
His authority threatened by this all-too-public shame, the mad emperor Nero has dispatched Antonius Axia, the empire’s finest “detectioner” and hero of Britannia, and Achillia, the sword-wielding champion of the gladiatorial arena, to reclaim his stolen relics at any cost.
But what began as a simple mission will soon become a terrifying journey into the dark heart of belief itself as the isolated woodlands of Rome’s enemies reveal unseen dimensions…and the true power of the legion’s lost eagles threatens to consume any who would pursue them…
On July 25th, prepare yourselves for a perilous journey into the barbarian age for an all-new, self-contained entry point into Valiant’s most intrepid series, as master storytellers Peter Milligan and Robert Gill dive deep into BRITANNIA: LOST EAGLES OF ROME – featuring covers from Cary Nord (Conan the Barbarian), Brian Thies (Star Wars: Legacy), and David Mack (Kabuki)!
BRITANNIA: LOST EAGLES OF ROME
Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art by ROBERT GILL
Cover A by CARY NORD
Cover B by BRIAN THIES
Variant Cover by DAVID MACK
B&W Sketch Variant by CARY NORD
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | VALIANT PRESTIGE | T+ | On Sale JULY 25th (FOC – 7/2/18)