By Vance & Van Hamme
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 978-1-84918-039-9
Cinebook's latest offering from the mind of Jean Van Hamme is an English language translation of the hugely popular XIII. The original series spawned a computer game and a TV show, so there's a simmering promise that this should be a series worth following.
It's opening pages remind you a little of the Bourne identity, and indeed they were written around the same time, but there the two tales part company. A man is discovered washed up on a beach with a bullet wound to the head, and due to the remote setting and the good fortune that an ex-surgeon is close by, they are able to save the man's life. When he awakens he has no knowledge as to who he is, and the only clues to his identity are a key, a tattoo with the roman numerals XIII, and a superb state of physical fitness. Because the ex-surgeon had been struck off they opt not to alert the authorities and the man slowly recuperates in the house of the elderly couple who found him. No sooner is he fit and keen to set out and discover something of who he is than he is discovered by others who seem intent on finishing what they started, and it is at this stage that he discovers he is also exceptionally skilled at defending himself.
Although the artwork seems a little dated (originally drawn quarter of a century ago) you soon slip into the story in the same way you would if you were watching a period TV show or movie. There's plenty of intrigue and a fair few twists and turns in just this first volume thanks to Van Hamme's gift as a writer, so its prospects look good for future issues. Because the tale has been out there for some while now in various forms I suppose the trick now will be not to stumble over any spoilers!
And if you liked that: The next few volumes are already available – so get reading
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