‘Uber: Volume 1’ – Gillen, White (Avatar Press)

I last read ‘Uber: Volume 1’ just a tiny bit over eleven years ago (click Here for my thoughts from back in the day); I had vague plans to work my way through the series but, as is typical for me, everything else seemed to happen all at once and I never got round to it.

A tiny bit over eleven years later… ‘Uber’ had been on my mind, just recently, and the first two volumes for a tenner (thanks eBay) was the ideal chance to dive back in and see if I could make it a little further with the series. I think I’ll have better luck this time, and not just because I’ve got Volume 2 lined up and ready to go ;o)

April 24, 1945. The world holds its collective breath as the war is only days away from ending. Russian troops move through Germany to the final objective... Hitler himself. As those around the mad dictator crumble, the much ridiculed threats of the "Wunderwaffen" materialize. A new weapon is delivered, one with unstoppable power - a weapon like no other and with a madman pulling the trigger. The Ubers change the direction of World War II, providing a dark and uncompromising alternative history in a way that you've never seen.

‘Uber: Volume 1’ is just as hard hitting and brutal as I remember it being all those years ago when I first picked it up. I had a rough idea, and vague recollections, of what was coming up but Gillen’s plot and White’s artwork still kept me fully engaged throughout. If you take your eye off the page, there’s a real danger that you’re going to miss something awesome, whether it’s certain, well-known, historical figures being pushed in new directions or enhanced humans battling each other against the backdrop of a suddenly uncertain future. Either way, this volume has you covered and promises good things to come.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here too; you’ll get on a lot better with ‘Uber: Volume 1’ if you have a strong stomach. War is hell and both Gillen and White leave nothing to the imagination which, thinking about it, is exactly as it should be. White’s work around the massacre of Russian POWs, in particular, is just stunning. Whether the ends justify the means will always be a matter for debate but what we have in the meantime is a very effective exploration of the concept of the ‘Arms Race’, dialled up to eleven as the arrival of the Nazi ‘Wunderwaffen’ prompts the British to follow suit and, presumably, other Allies as well. It’s inevitable and the only questions seem to be whether the ‘Battleships’ can be stopped and what shape the world will be in once the war is over. Just those questions are sufficiently intriguing to have me on board for the rest of the series but there’s a lot of other stuff happening here that bodes well for future volumes.

I think I would have probably got more out of ‘Uber: Volume 1’ if I’d paid a little more attention to certain history lessons and come to it with a greater understanding of events; that’s on me though and nothing to do with the book. There was plenty here to keep me going though and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it all pans out in future books.