Assassin’s Creed isn’t just for video games anymore. Like any good franchise, they’ve branched out into other mediums, including a series of graphic novels released in October from publisher Titan Books. They recently sent me some nice hardcover copies of their Assassin’s Creed graphic novels, translated from their original French into English.  The art style is definitely very European (not that I’m an expert), and the story is the familiar Assassiny goodness that we know and love. I only wish the series had taken a few more liberties with their story and really explored the larger Assassin’s Creed universe.

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has a lot of room to expand beyond Desmond Miles and the ancestors you play in the video games. And while these graphic novels do a good job with some of their ideas beyond the usual, they don’t go far enough. If you’re an Assassin’s Creed completionist – or perhaps shopping for one for Christmas – you should enjoy this series. But otherwise, the comics are pretty light on material.

Comic rating: 4/5: Good.

Desmond, Aquilus and Accipiter

The three Assassin’s Creed graphic novels – titled Desmond, Aquilus and Accipiter – tell one long, connected story by following two parallel plots. One is Desmond’s story from the video games, about being kidnapped by Abstergo and then going on the run with Lucy and the Assassins. The other is an original trip into the Animus to visit Aquilus, an ancient Assassin from the Roman Empire. As with the video games, the most interesting material comes from the trips back in time, but writer Eric Corbeyran definitely give us plenty of Desmond action. The guy is much more active and brutal in this series than he is in the games, which is cool to read.

Of the three books, the first one is the weakest because it basically just retreads ground covered in the first game, only in a much more rushed manner. It squeezes in the story of Altair even though it’s completely unnecessary to the overall plot. The two other books delve into original material, including the life of Aquilus and a few adventures that Desmond and his friends have while on the run. The third book is the best of the three, introducing the concept of dueling Animus trips as we see someone else go into the Animus and visit his ancestors. I wish the entire series had been about this new character and his story, but perhaps Corbeyran needed to focus on Desmond and the established game material.

All three comics play hard and fast with the strange concepts of Assassin’s Creed, from the Animus itself to the various characters involved. There were a few times where new characters suddenly pop up and act like we’re supposed to have known them all along, so it was a little confusing. You definitely need an understanding of the games to keep up with the comic. Though considering how big a fan I am of Assassin’s Creed, it wasn’t a problem at all.

You can purchase all three graphic novels on Amazon.com: Desmond, Aquilus and Accipiter. You can also join me after the jump for more review!

The best thing I can say about these books is that they have a lot of new ideas about the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The worst thing I can say is that writer Corbeyran and artist Djillali Defali don’t fully explore these ideas as well as they should. However, it reads to me like there are more books coming out eventually. At least I hope so, otherwise there are a lot of dropped plot points. So maybe these three graphic novels are just a build up to a larger story, and if that’s the case, I would say they do a great job. They’re good on their own, especially as far as the Roman Empire story is concerned, but the Desmond segments definitely feel like they’re building to something more. I can only hope that’s the case.

Though I’d be cool with just more badass rooftop murders

Like I said, the graphic novels cover two parallel stories. The first is about Desmond and how he’s kidnapped by Abstergo, the modern day Templars. He’s saved by Lucy and the Assassins, and together they go on the run to a safe haven in Italy. If you’ve played the games, you mostly know Desmond’s story. Corbeyran adds a few badass Desmond scenes as he actually fights off some Abstergo agents, and they’re fun scenes. The agents are all essentially just henchmen goons, but then that’s all they usually are in the video games too. The rest of the Desmond stuff is fun as he interacts with his new Assassin pals and uncovers the mysteries of Aquilus.

Which brings us to the trips back in time to visit Aquilus, the real meat of the story. Sadly, Aquilus barely appears in the first book, which focuses needlessly on recapping Altair from the first Assassin’s Creed game. So it’s much better when Aquilus takes over in books two and three, giving us some original content. Aquilus is the typical Assassin badass, who must uncover a plot against his family and punish those responsible. There are some nice twists, and the conclusion is both surprising and definitely something new. Though the story does suffer from lack of focus. I kind of wish we spent more time fleshing out Aquilus and his world rather than cutting back to Desmond so much.

The past is filled with so much more brutal killing

The best, most interesting part of the series comes in book three, when we meet Jonathan Hawk. Granted, he’s a guy with spiky blonde hair and a badass goatee who wears sunglasses in the Animus, but he has a lot of potential. Hawk is another Assassin who also uses the Animus to visit with a distant ancestor. In fact, Hawk is visiting his Roman Empire ancestor, named Accipiter, at the same time that Desmond is visiting Aquilus. And the very idea that two Animus trips would intersect like that is actually quite fascinating, I think. Especially since Hawk is one of the only other people we’ve ever met who is also put into the Animus. And when it comes to ancillary materials like these graphic novels, I think more of that kind of storytelling should be explored.

Because we already have entire video games to hang out with Desmond, Altair and Ezio. When you’re doing something different like a comic or a novel, let’s flesh out the world a bit more.

Sunglasses in the Animus is almost as bad as sunglasses at night

The art is quite good. I don’t know how exactly to describe the art, other than ‘European’. I’m no art major, so I don’t know what exactly makes it European, but it’s just a different sort of mood to the art. It’s detailed and clear, just how I like it, and the colors are crisp and engaging. I have no bad things to say about the art. It’s not the typical American comic book art, or Japanese. There’s a definitely energy to it, but at the same time it feels a little muted, if that’s the right word. It’s not bombastic art. But there’s nothing wrong with that.

Especially not with views this good

So overall, this is a good comic with some interesting ideas to add to the Assassin’s Creed mythos. I wish they had taken the time to explore some of these ideas more fully, but I get the feeling that future books might do exactly that. So perhaps this is a very good set up for future greatness. We an only hope.

Thank you to Tom Green and Titan Books for providing me with review copies of the Assassin’s Creed graphic novels. And thank you for allowing me to review your comics. It’s nice to know that someone other than my mom sees me as having some potential.