A review by kellysavagebooks
Anno Domini 1000, Volume 0 by Thomas Gilbert

challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s 1000 AD and Brunehilde is a wolf-charmer. As she travels from village to village, she hears talk that the End Times are coming, and then children start disappearing. When these children are found brutally, grotesquely murdered, the people turn on the wolves and the woods, but Brune is positive a human is to blame. 

This graphic novel is violent, disturbing, and, well, graphic. It’s certainly not a good time, but I’m extremely impressed with it. Though the art isn’t really to my taste, it is beautifully done, and you get a sense of the roughness of the time period it’s set in. There are explorations of systems of oppression, religious trauma and extremism, mob mentality, patriarchy, and exploitation of the poor. It’s about finding compassion in the midst of all these things, and it’s about caretaking the earth we sprang from. It pulls no punches, either in the gory art or in its discussions. 

Brunehilde herself is a fascinating character. Shunned her whole life for being a wolf-charmer, she still manages to be so understanding and full of goodwill for the people around her. She is happy to help whoever will allow her to, and she does all she can to understand the motivations of and have compassion for even the most despicable, deplorable people. She is strong-willed and self-sufficient and a boundary-setter. 

This story is like nothing I’ve ever read, and if you have the stomach for it, I recommend it.  

ARC provided by Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
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