Created by Rick Priestly and others in 1987 for the U.K. company Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000 has had a long and winding history. It’s taken over three decades for the property to find a home at Marvel. This month, brutal war in the 42nd century lands on-page and panel courtesy of writer Kieron Gillen. Jacen Burrows’ faithfully detailed art boldly asserts the rich visual reality of the world of Warhammer. Java Tartaglia brings beautiful color to the page, likely without having to employ the use of the microscopic 000 paintbrushes, so many of us have had to use on the game’s miniatures over the years.  

Life is absurdly brutal for humanity in the 42nd century. The living corpse of the Emperor has been resting on its golden throne for over 10,000 years, but most people don’t survive beyond their mid-thirties. Space marines protect the Imperium of Man encased in massive suits of powered armer that might as well be walking tanks. One such marine is Marneus Calgar--Chapter Master of the prestigious Ultramarines. He has come home to the Macraage System. Ragtag groups of heretics are attacking with surprising ferocity. Could the forces of Chaos be involved? 

U.K. writer Kieron Gillen has been a fan of Warhammer 40K since 1987. There’s a real love for the source material that bleeds through the script of the comic book. Gillen borrows some form and format of the old rulebooks and sourcebooks in a first issue punctuated with quotes from notable characters and densely-packed information about the world in which the story takes place. Gillen has done a beautiful job of packing the world of Warhammer into a couple of dozen pages. Gillen gracefully pummels the elegantly overwhelming brutality of life in the Imperium between the twin covers of a slim volume. 

Burrows’ art stands solidly with Games Workshop’s decades’ long tradition of impressively-conceived visuals for Warhammer 40K. Burrows does considerable justice to the visage of the beloved main character. The complexity of emotions are etched into the face of a seasoned warrior who has been to hell and back a million times. The opening issue is mostly drama with actual scenes of war bursting out of large panels that punctuate the drama. Tartaglia provides a rich sense of depth into battlefields, cavernous imperial interiors, and massive, cathedral-like architecture that dominates the backgrounds. Calgar’s bionic eye glows a beautifully subtle dull red, adding a considerable atmosphere.

Comic books thrive on multiple interrelated storylines. With the right finesse, there’s no reason to think that this might not be the first of many.  Warhammer 40K has great potential for an entire sub-universe of comics, the size of which could well rival the rest of Marvel’s line. Space Marines are but a small component of a universe also inhabited by the forces of chaos, Space Orks, Necrons, Eldars, and more. The quality of the first issue of Calgar’s series makes a strong case for Marvel venturing into further titles with Games Workshop in the future. 

Grade: A