Saving Private Ryan meets The Avengers with a splash of Hellboy as Unit 666 takes on the Nazi war machine…
Unit 666 is the brainchild of co-creators Noel K. Hannan, Warwick Fraser-Coombe, and Neil ‘Bhuna’ Roche. Set against the grim backdrop of occupied France during the height of World War 2, Unit 666 brings military and the occult together in spectacular fashion. Best described as Saving Private Ryan meets The Avengers with a splash of Hellboy, Unit 666 Volume #1 is an adventure you won’t forget.
The main bulk of this first volume is to introduce us to the gentlemen who make up Unit 666 and to set the tone to the current state of World War 2. With the allies making headway into occupied France, Hitler has called upon his vunderveppen - technological masterpieces that come from realms far from our own. Catching wind of these new weapons, the allies create Unit 666 whose sole purpose is to strike back against the ethereal horrors before Hitler can use them against the wider world. Made up of a bunch of talented degenerates that’s been pooled across the allied nations, Hitler and his Nazi regime aren’t going to know what’s hit them. But intelligence gathering works both ways, and with the Nazi’s knowing about Unit 666 they’ve created their own unit in the form of the shadowy Kriegsjaeger. With both sides destined to meet on the battlefields of war torn Europe, this is a side of World War 2 that the history books won’t teach you!
Along side the three co-creators sits a talented bunch of artists and letterers who all come together from the British independent comic book scene. With art from Andrew Swayers, Chris Askham, and Fraser-Coombe, I already had high expectations as to what to expect - and I wasn’t disappointed. Unit 666 Volume #1 is 77-pages of kick ass action that throws you straight into the machinations of the titular special ops team. From the opening credits page - that’s very reminiscent to a 1940’s newspaper article - you know that this story is going to be something special.
The rest of this volume introduces us to the gentlemen who make up the Unit 666 via plenty of flash backs to their recruitment and an epilogue mission that takes place before D-Day. Each member of the team gets plenty of time to showcase their unique abilities, and each writer gives us plenty of time in getting to know these fellows. I was instantly drawn towards Sir James Bannercourt, a typical medieval knight who literally comes out of the Higgins Boat at Normandy brandishing a broadsword. Quite an interesting chap, Bannercourt’s date of birth is listed as 1042, and rather than being immortal he claims it’s all down to luck. The characters rather unique backstory is further explored via Hannan and artist Derek Grey further into the volume as we learn that Bannercourt isn’t the only one of his kind, one of which fights for the Nazi’s.
In a departure from normal comic book conventions, Unit 666 pays attention to its antagonists too. Chief of these is leader of the Kreigsjaeger, Sigrid. ‘Sigrid’s Story’ charts the young Sigrid from her upbringing in Norway, to then a fateful encounter with a character known as “The General” and his pet bird of prey. Again, Hannan writes this origin story in a way that makes you literally root for someone who you already know ends up being the bad guy. It’s cleverly written and along with Bill Storie’s visceral art, we get a great tale of girl vs eagle, with far reaching ramifications.
Much like its writing, Unit 666 Volume #1 features a great deal of gorgeous artwork. Naturally the real stand out for me comes from Andrew Sawyers whose signature style is the perfect accompaniment to a ferocious story about werewolves - yes you read that correctly. Every artist paints their story well, with each creating the atmosphere of war with a great deal of care and attention. Derek Grey for example utilises plenty of shadows to set the scene of a clandestine meeting within the ruins of a shelled out monastery. On the other end of this spectrum is Lyndon Webb who gives a homage to Jamie Hewlett’s work on Tank Girl to great effect. In fact, Webb’s illustrations has made me dive back into the Tank Girl trilogy that’s been sitting on my shelf!
Overall and Unit 666 is a tremendous book that have you hooked from one of its many variant covers, right through to its conclusion. Hannan, Roche, and Fraser-Coombe are no strangers to crafting bloody good stories, and here the trio have played a blinder. Throw in plenty of gorgeous art and Unit 666 has a very bright future ahead of it!
Roll on volume #2!
Rating: 10/10
Unit 666 is available now and can be purchased by clicking here.
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social
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