The Dark Angels are one of the Space Marine factions from Games Workshop’s far-future miniatures war game Warhammer 40K. However, despite being the good guys, they harbour a dark secret of treachery and betrayl, which is explored to a certain extent in this collection of the first five monthly comics from Titan Books.
The planet on which a great war was fought against the Iron Warriors (another Space Marine faction that turned against the Emperor and went on to become tainted by chaos) has become accessible after 10,000 years of being stuck behind an impassable galactic space storm. However, the Dark Angels believe there may be secrets on the planet that they don’t want brought to light, so they send a covert team to assess the situation and do whatever is necessary to keep the forbidden knowledge covered-up – the Dark Angels aren’t afraid of a little collateral damage, especially if it keeps their secrets buried.
The Iron Warriors have their own agenda, though, and are also heading for the same planet, to finish the job they started thousands of years ago; while one of the Emperor’s top inquisitors is hot on the Dark Angels’ tails, sniffing out corruption.
This book is clearly aimed at fans of the game’s richly detailed setting and the Dark Angels in particular, so it’s a tad niche. However, it’s not just a cheap licensing spin-off and it has a sophisticated story and interesting characters. The art isn’t revolutionary but it’s dynamic and crammed with action, making it a stomping read for 40K fans.