I love spycraft in all it’s forms. From James Bond and Jason Bourne to Johnny English, Austin Powers and Archer. You show me a badass with a submarine car or a shootout on skis down the side of the Alps, I’m on board. The more delicate side of spies seems to require a bit more of a refined taste. Plot and dialogue are more important than explosions and gadgets, and sometimes this tightrope walk is difficult to pull off without boring the reader/viewer to death.
The amount of murder and sex approach Game of Thrones levels, and at a very juvenile level this is quite rewarding. What I found more enticing was the degree that Petrograd helped flesh out the Russian revolution in ways that I had previously only known from Doctor Zhivago, shitty Warren Beatty films, Wikipedia, and the rare instance when the History channel breaks away from Nazis, aliens and Jebus.
While Petrograd’s backdrop is largely the revolution, it’s focus is the international conspiracy to assassinate the legendary Rasputin, and the British spy (agent Cleary) who’s been given this task. There are deals with the secret police, crossdressing aristocrats, blackmail, backstabbing, torrid sexual affairs, as well as riots, shootouts and plenty of other excitement to keep the reader engaged.
It would be easy for Gelatt to inject supernatural powers or magic into the story, as lots of people familiar with Rasputin assume he was some sort of wizard space alien or some bullshit like that. Fortunately Gelatt doesn’t fall into that trap. Gelatt uses as much historical evidence regarding Rasputin as possible and surprise surprise, that makes for entertaining reading. It’s not like Rasputin wasn’t cool enough being able to survive shit tons of people trying to kill him. I get that he was an evil motherfucker trying to manipulate politics behind the scenes in Russia, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be admired as a diabolical and fiendish puppet master.
Gelatt delivers an engaging piece of historical fiction that entertains and informs the reader on a unique period in time that is frequently glossed over in western fiction. The “red menace” and the fear mongering that’s been associated with Russia for most of the 20th century (and for some reason still lingers in the minds of the elderly), has meant that for most of us Russia is that place where Rocky fought, the land of funny sounding hockey players, or the land of totally awesome dash cam car crash videos.
Crook’s artwork is definitely different from what you’re accustomed to. It’s closer to an instagram filter than to Todd Mcfarlane. There’s a great absence of color, unless you count the reddish brown of a sepia filter as color, but that shouldn’t scare you away. It’s very simple and clean, which makes it an easier read if you’re new to comics or sharing it with non-comic readers.
As always the best way to score any comic is to go to your local comic retailer, since we all want to keep them around forever. That being said, some of you aren’t blessed with having a nearby comic store, or worse yet having one run by a nose in the air jerk who won’t order items for you. If you fall into the later category, you can order the book from Amazon Prime for $21.45. If you’re a bit of a junky, the first taste is always free.
