Sledgehammer44_1

The letters page in the back of Sledgehammer ’44, a new 2-part miniseries from Dark Horse, reveals that co-writers Mike Mignola and John Arcudi originally conceived of this WWII sci-fi adventure as a vehicle for legendary artist John Severin, who passed away in 2012. With this in mind, it’s tough to read the first issue without imagining how it might have looked rendered by the EC Comics veteran. That artist’s distinctive style would have been perfectly suited to Sledgehammer ’44‘s mixture of gritty war drama and SF action, and he most certainly would have rose to the occasion. Thankfully, Mignola (who also provides covers) and Arcudi were able to secure the services of another of their BPRD collaborators, Jason Latour (Django Unchained, Winter Soldier), and that artist has an equally distinct visual style that lends Sledgehammer ’44 a gritty, pulpy power.

sledgehammer2

A squad of hapless GIs in occupied France find themselves providing backup for a unique combatant in the fight against the Nazis. Dropped from a bomber, an armored warrior (or is he a robot?) capable of delivering a searingly destructive electrical charge from his hands joins the battle to secure a mysterious armory, one which houses another fantastical combatant who fights for the other side. Worn out by the ensuing battle, the armored figure is exhausted and near death, and the confused American soldiers transport him out of the combat zone, only to learn that they’re not out of danger yet.

sledgehammer3

Fans of Mignola’s Hellboy, and the various BPRD spinoffs by Mignola, Arcudi, Latour, and others (as well as devotees of the stellar indie Atomic Robo, from Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener), will feel right at home within the war-torn pages of Sledgehammer ’44. The new mini fuses several of the creators’ interests in a similar way–tough-talking army guys, armor-powered otherworldly beings, and nods to mythology (the US secret weapon is labelled “Project Epimetheus”, after Prometheus’ more foolhardy brother in Greek myth). Jason Latour’s art calls to mind the work of other BPRD creators like Guy Davis, with a bit more of a European flourish (for instance, some of the character’s pointy noses resemble the work of Herge). One more issue doesn’t seem like a lot of space to do much more than answer issue one’s lingering questions and resolve the last-page cliffhanger, but what we’ve seen so far of Sledgehammer ’44 is intriguing enough to warrant more follow-up miniseries. After all, armored guys (or robots?) fighting Nazis is a subgenre that doesn’t seem likely to ever go out of style.

Related posts: