Valiant exclusive: Britannia introduces Ancient Rome’s first detective
Valiant has become a reliable name for superhero comics, but it’s taking a different approach to the genre with the new miniseries Britannia, which transports readers to Ancient Rome to tell the story of Antonius Axia, the world’s first detective. A psychological thriller that combines elements of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction, Britannia follows the Roman veteran Axia as he’s sent to the titular locale to investigate supernatural occurrences, allowing writer Peter Milligan to explore a turbulent time in British history.
“Since reading I, Claudius by Robert Graves as a teenager, I’ve been fascinated by the Roman world, and how that world affected these British Isles, pretty much obliterating the ancient Druid religion that had long existed until then,” says Milligan. “With the idea of Antonius Axia, I had a way into this story that had been waiting for me to write for some time.”
Milligan describes Axia as an “Ancient Roman Philip Marlowe,” and it’s an intriguing concept for a new Valiant character. It’s also a concept that demands considerable research, and Milligan and artist Juan Jose Ryp are putting in a lot of effort to make the time and place feel real. These preview pages from Britannia #1 reveal the meticulous detail Ryp is bringing to the design elements, and they also spotlight the element of the story Milligan is most interested in exploring: Rome’s Vestal Virgins. “I’ve been fascinated by the power and influence that the Vestal Virgins had,” Milligan says. “At a time when most women had little power, this group of women were at the very heart of political and religious life in Rome.”
The period-specific visual elements pose a fun challenge for Ryp, but he’s most excited about working with the characterizations in Milligan’s script. “What I’m really delighted [to work on] is the treatment of the characters with their characteristics, personalities, and feelings,” says Ryp. “It’s all incredibly potent in the scripts of Peter Milligan. Sometime with two or three words, he outlines a complete personality! That’s incredibly cool and I’m trying to reflect this with my work.”