"Have pity, Lord!" "There, there… Do not fear. Only you can swell our ranks with soldiers. You can sense when a soul is pure."
A mysterious killer, haunted by heavenly visions, roams free and kills children, while frightened villagers blame wild animals in the forests besieged by axes and flames.

"Your daughter will be a link between men and nature, so that we do not forget where we came from."
A mysterious girl who talks to wolves, sees things unseen and heals the wounds of flesh and soul roams the forest, accompanied by her half-dog half-wolf guardian.

"A bed of straw... a roof... and some beer will do me fine."
A wise, cynical, thieving, crooked wanderer sells cures and trinkets in the villages he passes (just once).

"Reject Pagan heresy!"
A fat, exalted monk shares the word of God to undernourished villagers.

"What a fine tree. It will yield a magnificent cross for the new refectory."
A young monk, haunted by longings and nightmares, searches for his way.

An earl who imposes his justice. A wandering woodsman. A peasant whose poisoned harvest forces him to seek his fortune elsewhere. Women who weave silence. Invaders. Assassins. Thieves. Angels. Saints. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. So many real and imaginary characters in the tragic saga of a woman trying to follow her own path and stamp out evil in a cruel and violent Middle Ages, when men are beginning to impose order on nature, when women are trying to civilize their men, and when the old gods are being destroyed by the new faith.

A superbly drawn book, with a strong, elegant line and colorful, atmospheric, colors-messages in the service of a rocambolesque and programmatic story, with surprisingly modern themes and messages, despite the medieval clothing. Excellent.

Powerfully told, gory, brutal but with a heroine who finds her own power and strength to combat evil.

This graphic novel tells the story of Brunehilde, a wolf-charmer and healer. She is nomadic and travels alone. As she travels in France she discovers wolves are being blamed for the murders of young children but she knows these children were murdered by a man.

Brunehilde decides to find the murderer and she travels through pestilence, poverty and oppression in order to ensure that in a world of power and injustice, justice can be done.

The artwork is good and conveys the wildness and brutality of the time, and the darkness and fear from paganism and from the emerging church. In the midst of this clash of power a young girl finds strength to seek justice. It is a gripping story, but not for the faint hearted.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thanks NetGalley and Europe Comics for this arc!

4/5 stars

This was a beautiful but disturbing graphic novel, examining the demons that dwell within us. I enjoyed it, but wish the description would have let me know just how much religious fanaticism would have come into play in this. I'm pretty tired of heroines being called she devils, demons and Satan's whore by mentally ill men, but I do get that was part of the point of this, to expose this type of vile violence. Othon was definitely ill.

"Anno Domini 1000" invites readers into a world where historical realities collide with the enigmatic presence of Brunehilde, a wolf-charmer and healer, as she traverses a landscape plagued by famine, deforestation, and an unsettling wave of violence against children. The graphic novel promises a thought-provoking exploration of the impact of religious shifts and the savagery of humankind.

This graphic novel is undeniably intriguing, beckoning readers with its captivating cover and the promise of delving into complex historical issues. The gradual pacing in the initial portions of the story may leave some longing for a more concise introduction to Brunehilde's world. However, the character of Brunehilde herself shines through, offering a compelling anchor to the narrative.As the plot unfolds and the mysteries deepen, there's a sense of intrigue that keeps readers engaged, with a rewarding twist near the end.

"Anno Domini 1000" offers a profound exploration of the violence perpetuated by states, social systems, and the darkest aspects of human nature, as mentioned by the author in their ending note. This graphic novel takes a fascinating turn as it gradually unravels the source of the perceived evil of its time—a force that mistakenly believes it's working for a divine purpose. It's a poignant reminder of how religious fervor can be tragically subverted, leading to disastrous outcomes. Brunehilde is the heart of the story; her determination to bring peace to all the creatures highlights her unique role as a voice for the wolves.

The narrative ultimately succeeds in prompting readers to contemplate the enduring consequences of violence, both on a societal and personal level. In a world where history is often obscured, this work stands as a testament to the power of graphic storytelling in shedding light on the shadows of our past and present.

I love the art here but the story leaves a lot to be desired. The whole time I didn't really know what was going on but boy was it super fun to look at.

The second graphic novel I've read so far! I loved this. I chose this book because of the beautiful eye-catching cover but since i love reading books with heavy topics, the actual content didn't really shock me or anything. Even though this book needs a whole lot of trigger warnings, I really enjoyed the realistic and gruesome portrayal of the violence of man. I think the twist at the end was great, but the first half of the book felt quite slow-paced, so the story seemed to drag a little bit.

Thank you Europe Comics and NetGalley for this arc. I would definitely check out some other works of this author!

TW: religion, murder, gore, violence

Considering the graphic novel is titled Anno Domini 1000, which meant "in the year of the Lord", I should not have been as surprised as I was when I realized that religion was the central theme of the story.

I will begin with the positives:

Brunehilde was my favorite character, I loved that the mc was a woman who is a wolf-charmer, who is strong, brave, independent, and a lover of nature. The novel has a theme of religion vs nature, where Brunehilde resides on the side of nature and kindness, a harsh contrast to the violence and hatred we see in other characters. I loved her perspective on the world, and she was the only part of the novel I truly enjoyed.

The art is very impressive as it is gruesome, I especially loved the pages illustrating the 4 horsemen as I found them to be gorgeous and the best show of skill in the novel. The animals were beautifully done, and I loved the scenes full of lush nature. The character models although at times I found them too disturbing to enjoy, were sometimes beautifully detailed as with Brunehilde.

I enjoyed the honesty of the narrator sharing their views of organized religion, I found the story to be sharp and clever in its usage of biblical scenes to create impactful images.

negatives:
I appreciate books that focus on complex topics, and writers who are not afraid to share the realities of the world through words and art. That being said I was not the biggest fan of the plot, as it felt too all over the place and in your face. The harshness of the story was not for me, as I felt it to be both simple and overly convoluted at the same time. This might be a great pick for fans of more dark and gory mangas/graphic novels, but I was not as gripped by the story and art as I had originally hoped.

I really loved the detailed graphics in this comic. The artist outdid themself. But yeah this also means that the pictured deaths are quite graphic. So if your stomach can't handle "gory" content... this graphic novel isn't something you should read. As it deals with death a lot.

This graphic novel didn’t work for me at all, I found it quite disturbing and in places incoherent — which, of course, might fully be intentional, because the theme is beastliness of man, but god, so depressing. And the really creepy christian imagery of biblical angels didn’t really make the story more to my tastes — but to each their own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC

Brunehilde is a wolf-charmer, a woman raised to be a healer, traveling through the country with only her wolf-dog companion by her side. While traversing the south of France, she stumbles upon a series of villages pillaged by famine, deforestation, and driven mad - all while children are being found beaten and maimed in the woods.

This was such an interesting graphic novel! I picked this up because of it's cover, and I'm a huge fan of any stories that attempt to explore real-life historical issues, like the rise of Catholicism/religion and how it impacted Paganism. I waffled back and forth on my review for this, but ultimately it's a solid 3.5 stars for it's accurate, but gory portrayal of the violence of man.

I had a hard time sinking into this story, it's very dense and very heavy from the beginning. I enjoyed Brunehilde's character, and the eventual plot as it was revealed, but it felt like it could have been pared down a bit in the beginning, as it does take a very long time to get to the meat of the story. I really liked the twist included - but again, it felt strange to suddenly have it thrust into the story so late and not very well explained (via text or image).

I'm not sure I'd pick up another novel by the author, though the note by the author at the end did make me reflect on the graphic novel in a different light. Overall, this felt like a story that struggled to get to it's point, and by the time it did, it had lost my focus and enjoyment.

Content warnings: death (animal, child, general), gore, war, violence, religious bigotry, slavery

This was a horrifyingly graphic brutal violent novel which explores legends, myths and a little bit of religion. I found some of the imagery very detailed and gory.
It's definitely different to anything I have read before. I found the story quite engaging and I thought there was a great twist.
The graphics were very good. I enjoyed them and the storytelling through the illustration was done so well.
If enjoy high fantasy, myths, legends etc then you will enjoy this.
Thanks to Netgalley and Europe Comics for this ARC.