The Best Comic I Read Today Is . . . Rasputin #1

I’m a sucker for historical fiction, so when I saw that Rasputin #1, by Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo was “based upon true-ish events”, I had to pick it up.



Rasputin #1 does what any good first issue will do – present the characters and provide a hook to keep the reader engaged and wanting to buy the next issue.  The hook here is that the framing sequence appears to be Rasputin, the “Mad Monk” himself, on the last day of his life, which he announces to the reader.  Then, through flashback, we learn a little bit about what made Rasputin into the man he would become.



We meet his abusive father and suffering mother, we are introduced to some strange power that the boy Rasputin has the ability to conjure, and a character meets his or her demise. The use of first person narrative, only evident in the framing sequences, sets a tone of foreboding and definitely accomplishes the goal of making the reader, and buyer, want to purchase the second issue.

If you do decide to give Rasputin a try, be sure to read the essay in the back where Alex Grecian explains the origin of the idea for this book, and tells a charming anecdote about when he died.

Almost.

- Aloha -