Warhammer 40,000: Will Of Iron #2 - Titan Comics

WARHAMMER 40,000: WILL OF IRON No. 2, December 2016

Considering that Issue Two of “Warhammer 40,000: Will Of Iron” is only twenty pages long, George Mann somehow still manages to cram an incredible amount of diverging sub-plots within its narrative. Sadly however, whilst such an informative read makes Kalidius’ early subterranean sojourn into “an underground city” full of survivors a tense, excitingly atmospheric experience, it also means that by the time the storyline has leapt from the planet Exyrion to “an ancient observation platform”, and then on to the feudal world of Tintaroth, events, as well as the vast cast of characters involved, have become both overcomplicated and overwhelming to say the least. 

As a result, once the adventure finally settles upon the Chaos Space Marine spaceship fast approaching the Calaphax Cluster, it is somewhat hard to actually work out just which planet Korus is partially planning to destroy with his “Engine of Death”. In fact, without re-reading the series’ preceding instalment again, as this book’s early summarisation makes no reference at all to the machinations of the Iron Warriors Chaos Lord, its impossibly hard to recall just what secrets Rendix and Astorax are hoping to crack open once the missile has detonated upon “the Hive”. 

Equally as confusing to those without an encyclopaedic knowledge of “Warhammer 40K” lore, is Astor Sabbathiel’s “current goal… to uncover whether the Dark Angels are secretly riddled with heresy.” Apparently already convinced of the treachery of Lion El'Jonson’s legion due to the affidavit of an incarcerated “thing”, the Inquisitor unwisely visits a “weather station” potentially “designed to keep a watchful eye on Exyrion” and then barely bats an eye when one of her entourage notices that “after all this time, the air recyclers are still functioning.” The installation clearly reeks of being a trap set by “the creeping things of the warp”, so why is the Ordo Hereticus devotee so convinced that Anya’s discovery of a handful of bullet-riddled corpses found on board is “the evidence you’ve been looking for”..?

Clearly this publication's saving grace though is the outstanding artwork of Tazio Bettin, which is so mesmerising and claustrophobically coloured by Enrica Eren Angiolini, that its almost immaterial how convoluted the storyline has become. The wonderfully drawn illustrations simply carry the reader’s eye along despite the aforementioned somewhat choppy script, and one can actually feel the heavy, living weight of the giant horned hounds as they momentarily fall upon Baltus’ squad and are then eviscerated by his sergeant’s chainsword; “There are spoors here. The place must be guard --”

The regular cover art of "WARHAMMER 40,000: WILL OF IRON" No. 2 by Fabio Listrani