Assassin’s Creed: Origins #1
Publisher: Titan Comics
Story: Anthony Del Col & Anne Toole
Pencils: PJ Kaiowa
Colors: Dijjo Lima
Letters: Comicraft
Cover: Stephanie Hans
While it may seem like Titan Comics has a monopoly on video game adaptations these days, they definitely have been able to do some great things with them. For fans of the Assassin’s Creed series, Origins was the shot in the arm that a series spanning a decade worth of titles needed. Assassin’s Creed Origins Issue #1 adds another layer to the tale of the creeds founding family. Following the exploits of Aya as she plots with Brutus to take down Ceaser, Origins’ Issue #1 sees the two race through the streets of Rome, removing with deadly precision, anyone who would be able to provide Ceaser aid.
Anthony Del Col’s adaptation drops readers right into the middle of one of the most famous tales in history, the death of Julius Caesar. Assassin’s Creed as a franchise is known for its ability to blend fiction with fact and Del Col manages to continue this tradition with Aya’s involvement in the assassination of Rome’s potential tyrant. Aya is idealistic and contemptuous of those who misuse authority and power but seems a bit arrogant in her opinion of her own abilities.
PJ Kaiowa’s artwork is beautiful and cleanly renders events panel to panel. What should be noted 
though is that while the supporting characters express themselves in a myriad of ways throughout the story, Aya seems to express very little. Narratively however, it may simply be that not much fazes Aya as she dispassionately observes the goings on of Rome.
Having not played Assassin’s Creed Origins, a fact I plan to rectify in the coming weeks, I’d say that this issue is solid enough that new readers will be able to come into it blind and still find enjoyment. Obviously, fans who’ve experienced the game will get more from this title than others and that’s a good thing. Assassin’s Creed Origins is a solid comic with good art and a nicely delivered climax but I wasn’t exactly blown away by any part of it. I failed to find any considerable connection to Aya, Brutus or the people for whom they claim to fight and that is disappointing. 3/5
Eric Snell
Esnell@comicattack.net
