Lady Baltimore: The Daughters of Medusa #1, written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden with art and colors by Bridgit Connell and Michelle Madsen, is set in 1939, amidst the dark early days of the Nazi rise to power, and brings back the swashbuckling heroine Lady Sofia Baltimore. This time, her case involves a Medusa who has killed both a Nazi and a Frenchman serving as a Nazi informant. Sure, no one’s going to cry over a Nazi and his stool pigeon being wiped out, but is there a more malevolent plot afoot?
The Lady Baltimore stories are a wonderful combination of Tomb Raider, Sherlock Holmes and the Hammer Horror films. They’re filled with swordfights, gunplay, the occult and the monstrous. This book is set during one of the most fascinating eras in history, just months before Germany invades Poland and ignites World War 2. It’s teeming with pre-war intrigue, Nazi spies lurking seemingly everywhere.
The issue opens with a bang, introducing the titular monster before cutting to Lady Baltimore’s home, a massive mansion sitting atop a cliff on a beautiful island off the coast of England. Because what’s a hero without a great place to crash between adventures? It’s an exquisite manor situated strategically, so remote that Sofia can enjoy great views of the ocean while also able to see an attack coming from any direction. No need for musty old underground caves here. Eat your heart out, Bruce Wayne!
Dark Horse
Artist Bridgit Connell imbues every character with personality. You can practically feel the quiet regal strength emanating from Lady Baltimore and the jitteriness of Mac, the huge Scotsman on her team, who’s powerful and confident in combat but surprisingly awkward and tongue-tied in normal conversation, especially with Josephine, another member of the team who’s equally powerful. The camaraderie and banter between Sofia and her team adds a lot to the book, giving the story a dash of warmth and playfulness before kicking into the darker stuff later in the issue. I enjoyed the moments between Sofia, Josephine and Mac. It gave insights into their characters and moved a relationship along a bit, too.
There’s a great confrontation with Medusa and her own monstrous team at the book’s climax and we learn about Medusa’s past, which is tied to a famous (infamous?) Queen. There are secret societies, beheadings from the shadows and creatures with a hundred snakes for hair, delivered masterfully (as usual) by writers Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. After all these years, you get the feeling these guys could write this stuff in their sleep, but it never feels contrived.
Dark Horse
Colorist Michelle Madsen enhances the book’s atmosphere by using muted colors throughout. It makes the book feel like there’s a darkness blanketing the world and I suppose even without the monsters the Nazi threat cast a dread shadow across the globe.
This is the first of a two-issue story, a two-issue miniseries. Hopefully we can get a longer miniseries with Sofia and her team in the future. Sofia and the other characters may be similar to Lara Croft in some respects, but they’re far more interesting and the timeframe that these stories are set in give them a classic feel, like watching a crackling good movie serial with a modern twist.
You must be logged in to post a comment.