Assassin’s Creed Conspiracies #1, written by Guillaume Dorison, tells the story of Eddie Gorm. Eddie is a docker along with his good friend Stan. With the promise of good money, Stan sets up a meeting with a man named Jack Turpin and his associate Robert Burton. However, Eddie sees that the two of them are gangsters and decides not to work with them because they are criminals. Stan reminds Eddie that the two of them resell military rations to the highest bidder, making them criminals as well. However, Eddie rationalizes their actions by claiming the people who live in the Docklands are starving and those rations help keep them alive. But he doesn’t trust gangsters. A little while later, Eddie is met by Colonel Boris Pash and his associate Lieutenant Julia Dusk. They tell him that they were sent to spy on the German military program called the Uranprojekt, which is Hitler’s Atomic bomb. They said Jack Turpin isn’t really who he says he is and wants Eddie to accept his offer and work for them as a double agent. Will Eddie be able to successfully work for both sides without being discovered?
My favorite character in this comic is Eddie Gorm. I love how his character shines through in his actions. We see the love that he has for his family by taking care of his sister-in-law Maria and her two children after his brother’s death. Even though he likes living where he is, he agrees to move away from the area in order to help Maria feel safe. We also see the inner turmoil Eddie faces as he grapples with the knowledge of turning innocent people over to his enemies in order to gain their trust. He truly is angry with himself and what he is doing, which shows his humanity and how much being a double agent is affecting him.
The artwork by Jean-Baptiste Hostache is attractively detailed. The facial expressions on the characters are extremely genuine and the use of color is wonderfully applied. The shading and lighting used throughout is superb. I thoroughly enjoy how every environment is colored so realistically, whether it be the gray shading for the winter scenes, the sepia tones used in Eddie’s low-light home, or the shades of burgundy outside as the sun goes down. The use of dull colors rather than bright ones also help to create the perfect atmosphere. This comic is beautifully done. The storyline is enjoyable, the characters are believable, and I loved the twist at the end. Assassin’s Creed Conspiracies #1 is available for purchase August 8, 2018.
--Amy Walker-LaFollette