We have the Duke of Wellington arriving at an old flame's estate, summoned to help solve three mysteries: a local boy's disappearance, an otherworldly black dog with glowing red eyes that's been spotted in the area, and a murdered man whose corpse is covered with arcane symbols and had deep, claw-like slashes across his chest. Wellington sets about investigating with the help of Minerva, a Fae (!) woman, and discovers Hell is about to break loose. Well he be able to stop it in time?
This was a lot of fun, and I ended up liking it more than I expected to. I was expecting creepy, Gothic goodness, and I got that, but I also got a rollicking adventure with a cooler-than-thou protagonist who is veddy, veddy English, Queen and country and all that, an intriguing supporting cast full of tropes who manage to be interesting in spite of being stock characters, and wow, that final incarnation of evil- I just can't say anything about that without spoiling it, but that was the best! This is some fine pulp! To me, it had a tongue-in-cheek feel; I might be misinterpreting the authors' and illustrator's intent, but isn't that the beauty of fiction (and all art, really), that the reader can make of it what they will? The art was wonderful- there's a spooky cast of light over every scene, either a shadowy blueish tinge, or a golden glow of candle/torch light. The old witchy woman is a scene stealer with her creepy mugging, and Minerva's Fae form is delightfully otherworldly. This book feels like an homage to the pulp horror comics of the early to mid 20th century, and it does a marvelous job of honoring that heritage.
P.S. This seems to be the beginning of a series, though the description reads like this is a one-off, so keep in mind there's an open ending with hints of more to come.

#Wellington #NetGalley

This was a pretty interesting read. The story started off simple enough, but took a surprise turn once this man was asked help from an old flame. Once the mystery began that was when this graphic novel got real interesting. While the story moves along, the situation gets more dangerous. Yet as this tale gives a twist ending that was hard to see coming, it looks like this story isn’t over yet. Fans of this genre might want to check this graphic novel out.

An expertly illustrated but matter-of-fact tale of old leeched of all suspense.
The Duke of Wellington breezes through this “mystery” with zero emotion and very little stakes.
Any hint of wonder is dashed with easily maneuvered dangers that waddle towards an unsatisfying conclusion.
The stars are all for the art and I’ll be looking for whatever Piotr Kowalski and colorist Brad Simpson do next.

If Sherlock Holmes found himself investigating an actual paranormal mystery I imagine it would resemble this graphic novel. The murder and unexplained events will be very familiar to readers of Doyle’s work.

The artwork does a remarkable job adding a layer to this story. From the opening panels it is very obvious this is the home of a man that has dedicated time and energy to dark and macabre pursuits. It adds detail to establish the character of the Duke of Wellington before we ever meet him on the page. The colors are brilliant and add a nice foreboding sense throughout the whole story.

Events in the life of Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, take a dark turn in 1828 when he receives a summons from an acquaintance to investigate strange events near her home. As a soldier he spent a lifetime fighting the wars of men and he is not prepared for the supernatural fight he finds himself in.

I did not enjoy the interruption to the story as I expected this to be complete, but obviously there will be a second volume and I am looking forward to reading it. I can’t wait to see how things progress.

Recommended for: paranormal mystery readers

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic graphic novel for fans who love Victorian horror and accessible adaptations. Anyone who enjoyed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will get a huge kick out of this, fans of Sherlock Holmes, fans of Dracula, and more. The violence is intense and pops off the page so perhaps it's more appropriate for older teens. It's a very cool start to what I hope will continue as a series with more issues.

Rather unremarkable graphic novel casting the Duke of Wellington as an investigator of the supernatural. The artwork was sufficient, but not really a standout. The book's not terrible, but it's not really necessary, either.

The story arc was predicable. Ends on kind of a cliffhanger, so I'll probably at least read one more in the series to see if it gets any better. As a plus, the art was well done.

I received a copy of this graphic novel through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As a long time fan of Lore, I knew instantly that this graphic novel would be right up my alley and I was not disappointed.

I devoured the story within and felt myself unable to step away even for a moment... needing more than anything to know where the adventure would take me and the Duke.

The plot fantastic... the characters rich... the atmosphere dark and mysterious...

Amazing, Simply amazing. Highly recommend.

A decent enough read, though not particularly unique. The artwork was enjoyable enough and the story kept my interest.

An enjoyable dark romp through British lore and devilry. Here, Wellington is brought to Yorkshire to work out the connections between a missing lad, a slashed, marked corpse that refuses to rot, and your typical big black dog. He's your reluctant, sceptical guide to this sort of thing, more the Sherlock Holmes than the Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. There are problems with it – several times it felt off-kilter, as if it had lost key frames or even full pages, and the peculiar relationship he forms with two female characters in the course of the drama felt a little off. But I still liked it – the story is nothing completely new, but works, the visuals are pretty strong for this kind of horror book, and it can be quite unshowily spooky at times. It's clearly aiming for at least one sequel, but I wouldn't actually mind more of this – it's not a read where you have to think hard, if at all, but there's always a place for such.