Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade [Paperback]

Dan Abnett (Author), Ian Edginton (Author), Lui Antonio (Illustrator), Greg Boychuk (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2007

In the nightmare future of the 41st millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of extinction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens and threatened from within by malevolent creatures and heretic rebels. Only the strength of the Immortal Emperor of Terra stands between Humanity and its annihilation. Foremost amongst servants of the Imperium stand the Space Marines, mentally and physically engineered to be the supreme fighting force, the ultimate protectors of Mankind. The Black Templars are fearless champions and unforgiving crusaders against the enemies of the Emperor; Forged from the Imperial Fists Space Marines in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, the Black Templars have undertaken the longest crusade the Imperium has ever known to prove their loyalty. The series centers upon a new recruit to the Black Templars and a member from their elite Sword Brethren squad and, the most venerable of their warriors, the Dreadnaught. From the "Battle of Carrion Gulf" to the "Torment Crusade," we follow these genetically-enhanced super-warriors in their dedicated hunt for the enemies of the Imperium. Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade serves as an accessible opening chapter introducing new and old readers alike to this bloody, dark, ravaged universe of science fiction and fantasy! Gods of War and Ancestors, bless us now, for we go to war...

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"DAMNATION CRUSADE is about as true a translation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe as you're likely to find... " - Randy Lander, Comic Pants

"... this was a fun read... pretty darn cool... " - Ain't It Cool News

Space comics are back... If you've never played the game, it doesn't matter; it still reads as a cracking, high adventure science fiction story. If you're a gamer, but not really into comics, it's a great introduction." - Comic Books Resources

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: BOOM! Studios (July 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934506117
• ISBN-13: 978-1934506110
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 40K Brought to life., November 29, 2008

By 

Gift Card Recipient "J. Neal" (Cambridge MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade (Paperback)

Being a fan of warhammer 40,000 books, I recently purchased Damnation Crusade and am now planning on purchasing more 40K graphic novels to see what I've been missing.

Damnation Crusade Follows three members of the Black Templar space marine chapter: Neophyte Raclaw, a Space marine in training, Brother Gerhart, a space marine of the elite sword brethren, and dreadnought Tankred, A centuries-old space marine kept alive within an armored robotic shell. The plot switches regularly between the three characters, though this does not slow the story or become confusing. Anyone familiar the 40K universe will instantly settle in to the well paced, action packed read.

My one complaint is the artwork, Damnation Crusade was illustrated by six different artists, all of whom did an excellent job, but the artwork switches randomly throughout the story, which at time can make it hard to follow. One character, Brother Tove Skeld, completely changes appearance several times throughout the course of the story as he is portrayed by different artists.

Despite this slight shortcoming, Damnation Crusade is a fantastic piece of work; if you like Warhammer 40,000, or you just like a good graphic novel, your going to love this.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent, but Needed to be Longer, August 29, 2008

By 

Raider - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade (Paperback)

Damnation Crusade takes place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, a dark and gothic future where mankind is constantly at war. Mankind's champions are the Space Marines: genetically enhanced humans who wear powerful combat armor and wield heavy weapons. These men have been trained and conditioned to be loyal only to the Imperium of Mankind that worships the Emperor, and to get the job done at any cost.

The story follows the exploits of the Black Templars: a Space Marine chapter loyal to the Imperium. From here it is split into three separate story lines, each focusing on a character: that of an initiate, that of a veteran Black Templar marine and finally a Dreadnought; which is the remains of a marine that has been encased in a giant robot sarcophagus so that they may continue on fighting long after they should have died from grievous injuries.

Damnation Crusade is at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to story telling. Most Warhammer 40k books are 400+ pages long to get the full story across, and even with pictures helping tell the story its a bit much to try and condense a story of that breadth into a small amount of comics issues. The stories themselves seemed hurried, especially during the combat scenes where you see the heroes killing multiple enemies at once, most likely due to try and condense the battles as much as possible. Unfortunately this makes you feel a bit cheated and at times and it seems a bit ridiculous when you see the hero killing half a dozen enemies at once. Again though, I feel this is because instead of having an entire novel or non limited comic series to get the entire story in Abnett was forced to go skimpy on some aspects. The plot isn't the deepest, nor are the characters (are space marines in the 40k universe ever though?), so if you like action more than plot than it will be more geared to you.

The art for me was fine.The pencils weren't top notch, but I don't think it distracted from the book at all. The coloring was dark and foreboding, and whether you like that or not (I'm not a big fan of it), that's exactly what the Warhammer 40k universe is, so the colors were fitting to universe and I actually think they help get a feel for the universe.

Damnation Crusade was a decent book, but I wouldn't say its much more than that either way. It definitely needed to be longer than it was as you could tell there was much more Abnett wanted to say but couldn't, and that more than anything hurt it. For the price I think it was worth it, but don't expect anything grand from the title.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good call, October 24, 2008

By 

Danny Tishler - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade (Paperback)

I've been reading about the warhammer 40K universe on the net for a long time, and being a book fan I decided to give this book a shot.
The art in the book is great and the storyline is very good, I enjoyed it very much. I recommend it to anyone who is a sci-fi/warhammer 40K fan like me.