I was not aware that this was part of a larger series when I requested the ARC, though I am not surprised. This is collecting issues of a comic series to republish in graphic novel format. Previous to this are Divinity and Divinity II. I definitely got the sense that I was missing out on some possibly important information.
Essentially, this is an Alternative History story. What if Russia took over Europe during WWII and the United States is now a Soviet Union colony? We’re still living in a world where some individuals have unique powers or abilities — superheroes — but of course they are defenders of the Soviet way of life.
One man suspects that the current timeline is not correct and sets out to make adjustments or find the help needed to restore the correct timeline. But that won’t be easy with the superheroes set out to stop him.
This is a really intriguing story and I really wish I had started with the first graphic novel to build into this title and to really understand what is happening. Still, author Matt Kindt does a nice job of pulling the reader along with the story.
But the real winner here is the art by Trevor Hairsine who manages to capture the classic look of the 1970’s style comics (such as that by Sal and John Buscema, Neal Adams, John Romita, et al) and still appeal to a modern comic-reading audience. It is really beautiful to look at, which makes reading it that much more fun.
I would probably rate this a full 4 or 4 and a half stars if I had a better idea of the storyline going in to it.
Looking for a good book? Divinity III: Stalinverse is a graphic novel with a fascinating storyline and beautiful art, but it’s the continuation of a story that begins in an earlier book and therefore just a little confusing as a stand-alone.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
* * * * * *
Divinity III: Stalinverse
author: Matt Kindt
artist: Trevor Hairsine
publisher: Valiant Entertainment, LLC
ISBN: 1682151913
paperback, 112 pages
Looking For a Good Book 