ime is running out for the Allies. Despite their technological superiority, the Nazis' latest "weapon" is proving to be simply too powerful. Many can barely believe what they're up against—giants who seem to actually have the powers of the deities they claim to be, the Norse gods, the Aesir. Somehow, Hitler and his occultists have succeeded in bringing these "gods" to Earth and binding them to their side. And so, as the second World War burns into decade after decade, the likes of Odin and Thor aid the Axis in its march toward global domination.
But the Allies do have one trick up their sleeve—Loki, the Aesir god of mischief, who simply appeared to the Allies one day and joined them in their fight. And though one god is no match for the might of many, Loki does reveal the secret of what brought his brethren to life—necromancy. The Nazis' death camps are run not merely for the purpose of genetic purification, it would seem, but as sites of mass human sacrifice that feed the Aesir's unending thirst.
Uncovering this secret, however, does not bring an end to the war, but instead makes it even bloodier, as other nations around the world decide to take up the dark magic, bringing to life their own ancient deities. From Asia to Africa to Latin America, gods walk among and consume the lives of countless men, women and children.
On this course, the Allies realize, soon there will be nothing of humanity left worth fighting for. Humankind's only hope therefore may lie with mortal heroes willing to defy the will of the gods, to refuse the lure of the sacrifice of multitudes, to believe in the power of mankind and not in pantheons.
Thor meets Captain America at DC Comics
The alternate-history tale David Brin and Scott Hampton tell in the The Life Eaters may be familiar to some, as it's based on Brin's 1986 Hugo-nominated novella, "Thor Meets Captain America." But this graphic novel is no mere adaptation, the original novella's story comprising only about a third of The Life Eaters' narrative.
Brin and Hampton have collaborated before (on the graphic novel Star Trek—The Next Generation: Forgiveness), and it shows. Brin's magical story of grand global crisis and heroic human achievement is illustrated splendidly by the lavishly painted art in this work. Hampton succeeds in showing the gritty, bloody ominousness of war, the ruddy determination and tragic frailty of mankind, and the uncanny reality of gods made flesh.
But even though readers are treated to 144 pages of this rich collaboration, they might find themselves praying in vain for more. The Life Eaters' story is a big one, an ambitious one that tries to cover a lot of ground—geography and time—and likely could have been told even better if it were (at least) twice as long. The result of this compression is some awkward pacing and text-image relations. (Very large blocks of text placed on top of a few images can make for some unappealing graphic storytelling.)
These problems are infrequent, though, and fairly minor in a work that is at once very good science fiction, fantasy and alternate history. And, as one might imagine with three types of speculative fiction woven together as they are here, The Life Eaters also does a good job of weaving some pretty big moral issues into its tale. The 20th century was the bloodiest hundred years in human history. Maybe things like speculative fiction can help to prevent the 21st from outdoing its predecessor.
