Review- REX MUNDI OMNIBUS VOL. 2

REX MUNDI OMNIBUS VOL. 2 (Dark Horse, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Rex Mundi No. 18, Vol. 2 Nos. 1-19, the Rex Mundi stories from The Dark Horse Book of Monsters, Myspace Dark Horse Presents No. 7, and Dark Horse Presents No. 15 (cover dates April, 2006- August, 2012)

Writer: Arvid Nelson

Artist: Juan Ferrerya with Jim Di Bartolo, Guy Davis, and Dave Stuart.

Dr. Julien Sauniere's quest for the Holy Grail goes off the rails in this fictitious, alternate Earth Europe of 1933 and 1934. The Duke of Lorraine's rise to power bears more than a passing resemblance to another fascist regime from our Europe in the 1930s. Everything comes to a head, with mythological beats, vampires, and resurrections of biblical proportions happening.

Rex Mundi is a sometimes scathing, sometimes tongue in cheek commentary on religion. Christians, Muslims, Jews...no one is above question or insult. Things seemed to be more plausible in the first Omnibus, but here more fantasy elements come into play. In all honesty, those same elements spice things up and keep it from being a dry read.

There is a 1-2 page “newspaper” at the end of each issue, and it is there that the wittiest writing occurs. They take a while to get through but are worth reading. The comics themselves are pretty decompressed. I plowed through 300 of the 600 pages in a few hours one afternoon. The artwork is handled by different artists, and all of it is good stuff. I would recommend that you buy both books before reading them. I wish that I re-read Volume 1 before starting this because I feel like I lost my footing in knowing where the story was going. It took me a while to get my bearings. 

This is good stuff that is thought-provoking, whether you agree with Nelson's opinions or not. I imagine some folks will be easily offended by this, but not me.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I handle my books like museum artifacts, treating them like paintings or sculptures. My 6.5 year old son...not so much. He received one of the Dark Horse Star Wars Omnibus books from some friends of mine for his 5^th birthday. It has been carried to and from school in his backpack, read in bed with him falling asleep on it, stored open and face down, and there isn't a creak in the binding nor any loose pages. This is a testament to the quality of these Dark Horse books. While I could never treat a book with such reckless abandon, it is comforting to know that I could if I chose to. These Dark Horse Omnibus softcovers should provide a lifetime of reading enjoyment.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. I'll admit it, I really enjoy huffing the slick coated stock toxic Chinese ink and paper used in these books. ***snooooort*** Oh yeah, that's the stuff...

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. Sewn binding in a glued cardstock cover. See above comment.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4.5 out of 5. This has a sufficiently thick waxlike coating on the cover.

Buy REX MUNDI OMNIBUS VOL. 2 TP at InStockTrades!

Review- REX MUNDI OMNIBUS VOL. 1

REX MUNDI OMNIBUS VOL. 1 (Dark Horse, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Rex Mundi Nos. 0-17 and the three Brother Matthew web comic strips (cover dates August, 2002- March, 2006) (Originally published by Image Comics.)

Writer: Arvid Nelson

Artists: EricJ, Jim Di Bartolo, Juan Ferreya, Brian Churilla, Jeromy Cox, and Jason Millet

Rex Mundi is Latin for “King of the World”. In the Paris of 1933 we see a conspiracy of power going all the way back to Biblical times, with royal lineages and birthrights mixing with sorcery and cults. Then again, what is Christianity but a cult gone mainstream, right? There are lots of questions about all religions in this title. Many of the things that religious conspiracy stories like The Da Vinci Code touch upon, such as the Holy Grail, are covered here. Rex Mundi was being published before Dan Brown's book, so it is not entirely fair to call this title a copycat. Rather, we'll call it two creative minds going down the same road but getting off at different exits. 

This starts out as a whodunit, but quickly progresses into other territory. This is a very slow building story, with seemingly disparate scenarios and characters converging at a later point once the story gets going full steam. Once it achieves it's momentum, the unfolding plotlines will make this a book that you won't be able to put down. The writing and artwork improve with each page. 

Speaking of artwork, this title changes hands a few times, with each artist brings something different and unique to the table. None of them derail the feeling of the previous artist, yet they offer something completely different than their predecessors.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- These Dark Horse Omnibus books offer maximum bang for the buck, clocking in at 584 pages in full color for $24.99 MSRP. These books are slightly smaller than a standard trade paperback but are larger than a digest. The paper is a decent weight coated stock but the coating is inconsistent throughout the book. Some pages are as smooth as a baby's bottom while others have that dirty, gritty, “dusty” Chinese printing feeling. When the Chinese go cheap, the paper feels gross. If the children working the sweatshop presses can't get it right then I suggest we exploit another Third World country who will do a better job.

I wish that the original cover art that was prepared exclusively for the trade paperbacks was included as extras in the back of the book. The cover to this book is the cover to the Volume 3 trade paperback.

This book has high quality sewn binding and will last a lifetime. My 5 year old son has one of the Star Wars Dark Horse Omnibus books with the same binding, and it is beat to Hell with nary a creak in the binding or loose pages. He sleeps with it, leaves it open face down overnight, etc. If you handle the book that carelessly and it lasts, let alone when you handle them as gingerly as I do, then I give it the buy with confidence vote.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5.

Binding rating: 5 out of 5.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5.