A World War II era story featuring a golem isn’t a new idea, but it definitely is a potent one – particularly given the iconic status of this figure from Jewish legend. And with this solid a team behind this Dark Horse incarnation of the story – featuring Steve Niles of “30 Days of Night” fame and Wachter of “The Guns of Shadow Valley” – it looks like we have plenty to look forward to from another revival.
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Dave WachterThe giant clay monster from Jewish legend goes on a Nazi-killing rampage in order to protect the inhabitants of a small Jewish stronghold and an injured British pilot.
Despite what the solicit hints at, this is largely a set-up issue, with little in the way of golem rampaging. Rather, what we do get is a feel for one young boy, Noah, and the tragedy his village faces as a German invasion becomes increasingly likely. All the men have already been sent away to fight, and now the youngest and the oldest are left to wait and hope, or despair – until a crash-landed British pilot brings solemn news.
It’s pretty wrenching stuff, made even more tense by a few moments of grim humour when Noah encounters the pilot. But the real meat of the story lies in the conversations between Noah and his grandfather. It’s through their quiet dialogue scenes that we get a real sense of the fear that has taken hold of this village, and of the sense of resolve that keeps them together. We also get a taste of the overarching theme of the series, and it’s a strong as well as troubling one: it takes monsters to fight monsters, and this village definitely has a monster of its own.
This issue is also pretty remarkable for what it leaves out: we don’t get a good idea as to what country the story takes place in. Maybe the aim here is to create as universal a story as possible from the get-go, but my feeling is that a little more specificity would have made the story feel more real, not less.
Otherwise, though, this issue plays out smoothly, building up a strong sense of tension as the possibility of the golem comes to light. The fact that the supernatural element of the story grows naturally from the interaction of the boy and his grandfather is particularly effective: it grounds the magic of the story in something appreciable and sympathetic, making the golem even more potent as a symbol.
Dave Wachter’s subtle greyscale art gets at the general feeling of hopelessness and malaise, portraying resilient people in hard circumstances and doing a particularly fine job in the case of our main character’s grandfather. Thoughtfulness isn’t exactly an emotion, and it must be right up there among the most difficult states to portray, but Wachter gets across a wonderful feeling for the thought processes of this character.
In terms of action scenes, a chaotic battle sequence and the later plane crash are laid out with appreciable energy, not to mention excellent period detail. And while we don’t see very much of the golem, the hint we do get is promising.
Meanwhile, Nate Piekos’ bold, crooked lettering is unusual, and a little distracting at times. But while this particular style does take some getting used to, it suits the overall tone of the issue well, hinting at the violence which is not seen.
So far as action-light, introductory issues go, this first chapter of “Breath of Bones” is pretty solid, working in a real sense of pathos despite a lack of focalizing details. Between the strong writing and understated but powerful art, this story has a solid foundation to build on; and while it is moving slowly, we’re talking masses of sentient clay, here, and that kind of magic takes time. My guess it’ll be worth sticking around to see what coalesces.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy, or jump on next issue
