This book tells the story of Antonius Axia, a man who becomes sort of a detective.

This book's art's oddly detailed however, after the first few pages, you get used to it.

The story's very interesting, it's highly immersive. It's great to see a historical fiction fantasy graphic novel (what a mouthful!), however, I'm not sure if its historical base is accurate.

The characters themselves were... interesting. Except for Nero, they felt real (which is odd because Nero's probably the only character based off of an actual person).

I still think this is a book you should probably try out, especially if you're a fantasy/historical fiction fan.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I was never able to successfully download - or open - the PDF. Apologies. This actually was a read I was interested in. Another time...

The story of Britannia was well-conceived, twisty, and incorporated Roman Empire history in an intriguing way. Overall, I enjoyed the story but the writing was sometimes jarring, and I just couldn't get into the art. I was intrigued to pick up this title by the description of it as the story of the "first investigator" (termed "detectioner" in the title), but I was a little disappointed that this wasn't more of a mystery. I'd be interested to see what the next story art brings, and if it's more "investigative."

I don't know if some of the statements were supposed to be tongue-in-cheek funny, but the "period speak" was sometimes interrupted by anachronistic contemporary wording. As for the art, as with the writing, my general sentiment is "It's good, but..." The artwork was detailed, and I think that the colorists made the most of the pencils and inks, but the aesthetic of the human figures really bothered me. Everyone was ugly and blobby and reminiscent of terrible fantasy book covers/fan art from the 80s and 90s. Since the title has a horror component, it worked well when things were supposed to be violent and grotesque (and there's definitely 300-esque blood and large-scale violence), but not during other scenes.

P.S. The nerd in me really enjoyed the essays by academics about Roman history that followed each issue.

Thanks to Netgalley for access to the eARC.om/review/show/1879304208?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This book is about Antonius, a roman soldier that is sent in a suicide mission, six years after being saved by the Vesta Virgins. These Virgins have great power over the roman emperor, Nero.
Rubria, the head of the Vesta Virgins, was an intriguing character. She was manipulative and was able to make Nero do whatever she wanted.
The plot was good but slow.
Britannia is an interesting take on the roman empire but I felt like it was lacking in action and character development. It showed us a bit of the roman empire's culture and society and, between chapters, the book had texts explaining some aspects of the plot.
Because the story felt like it was being dragged, I can't give this book a high rating.

'Britannia' by Peter Milligan with art by Juan Jose Ryp tells a mystical tale of ancient Rome. It also includes some good essays on the real Rome that made this a pretty good read.

Antonius Axia is a front line soldier in Caesar's army. He has an encounter with a strange being and rescues a woman before he is seriously injured. The Vestal Virgins back in Rome are grateful to him and heal him. They also charge him to discover what is going on back in Britannia where he was. He is the First Detective and with his servant Bran, they will try to untangle the weirdness in this strange land. Emperor Nero may have his own agenda for the work that Antonius is doing.

This collects 4 issues. At the end of each issue is an essay about a subject found in the pages. There are essays on the Vestal Virgins, Nero, Roman Britain, and the Roman Centurion. These shed interesting light on how people and events are portrayed in comics and movies, and how they might have actually been. I really liked this aspect of the graphic novel.

And it is a graphic novel. The art is really topnotch. I like the detail in things like a bicep holding a raised sword or the strange flowering monsters. Gore and nudity show up throughout the book, so it should be considered for mature readers.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Valiant Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Britannia follows Antonius Axia, a Roman legionnaire, during the reign of Nero. After saving one of the Vestal Virgins, his fate becomes entwined with theirs. He also gains the ability to see what others can't, sort of like Sherlock Holmes. I would not be surprised if the great detective was an inspiration for this character.

I like that this book takes a step away from the traditional Valiant characters. It allows the company to explore different eras and locations without messing with their core series. Heading to ancient Rome is a fun choice, especially with the supernatural elements that are brought into the story.

The art is gritty. I'm not sure if it was a conscious choice, but it made me think of an old manuscript that was recently discovered. Whose pages are brittle and cracking while remaining legible. It does take on some darker tones to match the plot of the story. Jordie Bellaire does a fantastic job with the colors.

This book didn't wow me the way that other Valiant books have. I appreciate the risk they took on this book by going outside their normal elements. It could have used a more charismatic protagonist though.

I felt like I needed a doctorate in the history of Rome to read this thing. There's way too much unnecessary backstory where the main character goes crazy, yada, yada. Our main character is supposed to be the world's first detective but he does very little detecting outside his initial setup in Rome. I think he would have worked much better if they had taken some of the visual cues from the Sherlock BBC series, having him notice small things on the page by enlarging them. None of the characters are likable are relatable. The supernatural aspect is very wishy-washy and very unclear if it is just happening in our detective's mind because he's crazy or if it's real. The only bright spot was Ryp's art. He does horror very well.

I was pleasantly surprised by Britannia, the new graphic novel (now in trade paperback) from Peter Milligan. Recently not all my graphic novel experiences have been so good, so my expectations were not so high, but this turned out to be without reason.

Set during the rule of Nero both in Rome and in Britannia it follows Antonius Axia, who is called the first detective. He doesn’t do that much of detecting, but since he Sherlocks his way through life by being observing I guess the title is not that far off. However, it is mostly a horror story, so the detective-part wasn’t big enough for my liking. It is still quite a complete story in the limited amount of pages.

What I did like was that every issue was followed by a short essay on different aspects of the stories, like the Vestal virgins, Nero and life in Roman Britain.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I had a very difficult time getting into this book and it isn't because it was written poorly or because it wasn't beautifully drawn. It was just really hard to follow. I felt as if the story bounced around a bit and it was difficult to keep the timeline in check. However, the art was fantastic and I think that I had been more interested in the particular subject matter, I would have enjoyed it much more.

Antonius Axia, a Roman Centurion in the time of Nero, was asked by the Chief Vestal Virgin to rescue a missing Virgin. He did, but none of the men that went with him survived the encounter with the monster. Axia did only with healing from the Vestal Virgins. He retired from the army to become a "detectoner" or in current English, a "private investigator". Nero sends Axia to Britain to find out what is happening to his soldiers. Axia and Bran, his man-servant, find strange happenings, weird Druids, ghastly fog, and a return of the monster. The question arises, will either survive to see the pleasures of Rome again? The adventure tale and the historical background makes this an entertaining read!

I'm not a big history buff, but this was an interesting take on Nero's Rome. Of course, it's not exactly going for historical accuracy, what with the seers and monsters and paranormal. But it was definitely attention grabbing and kept me reading.

A Roman soldier is manipulated by the chief of the Vestal Virgins to become the first detective in history, unless the ancient Greeks had stories they didn’t bother to tell (long shot). Then Nero sends him to the British Isles to find out what’s going wrong, thinking it was actually his idea.
Starts with a history of the Vestal Virgins; seems like far too many of them were blonde. The story quickly moves to northwest Europe, with plenty of blood and gore, as well as magical Druids and devils, so it’s certainly not a straightforward history.
There’s this one panel of artwork that I find so spectacular—though I can’t explain exactly why—full width with a flying sword. You’ll know it when you see it.
In between the chapters are scholarly articles on the Vestals, centurions, Nero—was he really that bad? Yes and no—and Roman Britain.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

There's no denying the qualities of this book, principally the detailed artwork that brings all the violence to the fore, and the sheer novelty of a mystical, religious adventure a Roman centurion must face in rural England, but there are also several flaws to recount. The colouring, that tries to be as detailed as the inkwork, can be wildly random, and destroys the mood of the scenes in being, not garish, but showoffy. And the plot, in forcing its majesty into four rigid episodes, is a bit clunky, just touching at what could have been. But the most heinous thing here is making the demon some sub-Lovecraft beastie – can we not have a bit more imagination in bringing a hellspawn monster to the page, as opposed to something that's long been dated and naff? Still, good marks for effort elsewhere, and for being a censor-free, adult comic.

I’m a long-term fan of Peter Milligan’s comics, but he’s written some right stinkers lately, and I’ve never been too taken with Valiant’s serious stuff, so I didn’t pick up this Roman detective adventure on release. Bless Netgalley, then, for having it available as an ARC. First impression: Ryp’s art, which on his Avatar work can sometimes show more detail than soul, looks amazing with Jordie Bellaire colouring. Second impression: still not convinced Milligan is firing on all cylinders. Our hero is a centurion made into Rome’s first ‘detectioner’ by a codex the Vestal Virgins showed him; this ‘codex’ is persistently depicted as a scroll, which is a bit like repeatedly referring to a Kindle while having the hero shown flipping through a paperback. Also, this is apparently what makes him the only person in Rome who thinks in terms of cause, effect and motive rather than gods and superstitions. Which is interesting given, even more than Greece, I’d consider imperial Rome the first period when people were already starting to think in terms we’d recognise as rational, even if obviously their premises were a bit wobbly at times – just look at Cicero, and how much closer he seems to modern arguments than Aristotle, let alone that nut-job Plato.
And then the main plot sees our man sent to the fringes of Empire (as the title suggests) to fight monsters. So why bother painting him as anomalous in Rome itself when he's not going to be there long? The notion of the logical man from the big city fighting demons in the sticks recalls Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, which I love but hardly needed a Roman remake; the idea of reason as another form of magic is potentially resonant​, but also potentially tritely post-truth. And ultimately I get no sense of the wider point here, especially when compared to Milligan's last classical foray, the too-soon-cancelled Greek Street.

A good story with good graphics. Set in Roman Britain it tells the story of Antonius Axia, a Roman soldier who is sent to Britain to find out why Roman soldiers are disappearing. Little does he know but the case is linked to the rescue of a vestal virgin which he led some years earlier.

The vestal virgins are a mystical sect tasked with keeping the eternal flame of Rome alight but they have mystical powers themselves and Antonius is left changed by the rescue effort and he has made a new unearthly enemy.

And now in Britannia as he seeks to solve the mysterious deaths he is confronted with the strange powers that lie without and also within himslef.

It is an interesting story from Valiant and very different to others because of its historical setting. I enjoyed reading it and I really liked the paranormal aspects of the story.

Definitely a good one for anyone who enjoys the Valiant graphic novels and who enjoys mystery/horror stories. Lots os blood and guts in this one but still an engrossing read.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Britannia is an astonishing graphic novel written by one of the most famous comic masterminds Peter Milligan (the author of X- Men, Justice League, Hellblazer, Red Lanterns, X-Statix and many more) in collaboration with a jaw dropping artist Juan José Ryp (Clone, The Multiversity,...).

Britannia follows the story of a Roman war hero Antonius Axia, who has been trained by the Vestal Virgins to see beyond the obvious. As he travels to Britannia to investigate the unexplained occurences at the battle front he faces and old enemy and some new ones.

I truly, completely and utterly enjoyed this graphic novel! It had everything I like in a graphic novel: witty and multidimensional characters, a well branched out plot, a somewhat believable villain(s) and amazing art.
I really like the fact that at the end of every issue there was a text describing the historical figures or organizations, which were very informational and could provide a better insight in the interaction of the characters.
I find the main character was really amazing, which surprised me because I mostly think the main characters are annoying or simply boring and plat. Antonius was intelligent and courageous, he was troubled by his past and that was shown quite truthfully though his actions.

In conclusion, I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone who enjoys historical and mystery graphic novels, but also to anyone else who is a the moment getting into them.


I received this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Stunning artwork and an interesting story. Great for fans of British and Greek/Roman mythology as well as fans of bloody action scenes.

I really enjoyed this foray into Britannia during the rein of Nero. Who isn't fascinated by a cult of virgins, demons, despots and centurions? Oh and don't forget Druids and wyrd women. Peter Milligan and team weaved all of these components together, and more, with amazing art, compelling characters and a touch of history.

In general, I knew a smidge about all of these topics. Enough to be interested in reading the book. You watch as a soldier risks his life to save Vestal Virgin and is then remade into a weapon. He's then sent to wilds of Britannia to face the same evil again. At the end of each volume, you get a bit of a history lesson. I loved learning about the Vestal Virgins, Nero, Centurions and the Roman empire in general. The action was faced paced and the storyline well done. Milligan created characters you wanted to learn more about.