A galactic civilization can’t help but be beset on all sides by chaos. A single emperor has rested as a living corpse on the throne of a powerful empire for more than 10,000 years. Naturally, he’s going to need a little help dealing with dissidents. That help comes in many forms, including that of the seven warriors who have been sent to the planet Siscia to put down a treasonous rebellion in Warhammer 40,000: Sisters of Battle #1. Marvel Worldwide’s partnership with Games Workshop of the U.K. continues in a new series written by Norwegian author Torunn Grønbekk with the aid of Mexican artist Edgar Salazar and Indonesian colorist Arif Prianto. 

Siscia is a massive mining planet on the fringe edge of the Celedin Sector. Life is short and brutal for those living on the planet. It’s only natural that the civilization there is going to chafe under the pressure of a galactic empire. A heretical movement could turn into an all-out religious war. The empire sends in seven Battle Sisters of the Orders Militant to put down the rebellion, which is being launched from deep within the planet. The Battle Sisters are highly skilled, but they’re going to run into trouble. If this was going to be an easy operation, it wouldn’t be a Warhammer 40,000 story.

Grønbekk has a solid grasp of the brutality of an adventure set in the beloved war-torn darkness developed by Games Workshop decades ago. The text-heavy backstory might feel a bit leaden for the first issue, but it does the job in setting up the basic premise of the series, which is to follow. The strange co-mingling of religious piety and brutality on a sci-fi field of battle is certainly in good hands with Grønbekk, who isn’t afraid to spread around the bloodshed to establish the right mood. 

Salazar has his hands full, trying to make the mess of war look good on the page without making it look too beautiful to be Warhammer. All in all, he does a solidly good job of making everything work without being totally submerged into a messy chaos between the gutters. The bionic-eyed Canoness Veridian looks like every bit the badass she should be as leader of the group. Prianto does an excellent job of helping define the atmosphere, whether it’s in the darkly sterile halls of a Retribution-Class Imperium Battle Ship or deep in the industrial mining colonies beneath Siscia.

The second Warhammer 40,000 Marvel Comics series is off to a good start with an impressively international creative team. Marvel/Games Workshop could have gone in quite a few different directions with a second series. It IS disappointing that they would go with another Imperium-based series when there are so many other interesting ends of the galaxy, including Eldar, Squats, and Space Orks. If they’re going to go with another Imperial series, the Battles Sisters certainly seem interesting enough to follow around for a few issues.

Grade: B