Rebels: These Free and Independent States #6
Dark Horse Comics
Written by: Brian Wood
Art by: Andre Mutti
Letters by: Jared K. Fletcher
It’s 1753 and Lieutenant Colonel George Washington is leading a platoon of men through the Ohio River Valley. The foliage is thick and green as they cross paths with a tribe of Native American Indians. The platoon is looking to get to the Allegheny River to get to Fort Rectitude where they expect to meet British forces. After agreeing to give the Indians five crates of muskets as payment, they are able to resume their patrol until they come upon Fort Rectitude, which is being held by French troops to the surprise of the Virginia Militia. After taking counsel from his servant Jamie, George Washington orders to take the fort at his command to the dismay of his captain. The captain is disturbed by the fact that George Washington is taking some of his council from his servants Jamie and Will. In the midst of all this, George is having Jamie keep a written record of what has transpired thus far, making sure to annotate anything he sees important enough. George reassures his captain that this is the right course of action and that Virginia gold pays his salary. The Virginians manage to get into the fort by chopping a
The captain is disturbed by the fact that George Washington is taking some of his council from his servants Jamie and Will. In the midst of all this, George is having Jamie keep a written record of what has transpired thus far, making sure to annotate anything he sees important enough. George reassures his captain that this is the right course of action and that Virginia gold pays his salary. The Virginians manage to get into the fort by chopping a hole in the side of one of the walls with an axe. The two forces battle, but there is only one winner. George’s platoon is victorious in its attempt to overtake the fort, but the prisoners that they were hoping to free were nowhere to be found.
When thinking about that era and comparing it to shows of the same era on different media such as television (Turn), Brian Wood does an excellent job with the dialogue and keeping the story flowing very tightly from start to finish. The details of having George Washington’s servant Jamie writing down the events that were unfolding seemed very accurate to the source material. I give this book and the writer a lot of kudos for originality considering I would have never thought to write a book about past events and then take liberties with those events as the disclaimer in the beginning of the book proclaimed. Andrea Mutti’s art work, in my opinion, did a very good job in helping to tell the story that Brian Wood is portraying via the written word. Some of the details in the panels could use a little more attention though. A good example is the art on page 19 where the one Virginian is using the axe to chop through the wall. The axe and the impact of it on the wall looks hastily drawn and colored.
I thought this was a very good book overall with a long road ahead of it for the writer and artist. I do not read many Dark Horse Comics, but I was pleased with Rebels and look forward to searching out other titles and issue number seven when it comes out to see what happens next.