Warhammer 40K is something I have never really paid much attention to, but I find to be utterly fascinating at a glance. It's that cool blend of fantasy and deep science-fiction that is just cool. In theory it's a series of stories that take place in the 41st millennium, deep into the future. And all that is known is war. Various factions with their own beliefs and agendas in a constant state of death and destruction. The sheer scale of this is felt with all kinds of chaotic designs that results in a universe that seems completely pointless. Nothing seeming to have a purpose beyond obtaining power by some form of violent means. Various planets are entirely engulfed in war, and various species have been pulled into it in some way or another. The Warhammer franchise is something that goes beyond just literature though, and while I'm not all that interested in the books, there's something else I'm not all that interested in: the tabletop game that the whole thing is based on. People collect and paint the models of various characters as a hobby, buying the models used for the game without intent to ever actually play them. Some read the books and get heavy into the complex lore of it all. Others, perhaps more like me, are more interested in the visual media. The games and the comics that exist. Recently a new Space Marine game came out, and I annoyingly can't play it at the moment. And that led to me getting curious: are there comics?
I searched around a bit and looked online through various forums, people recommended some comics over others, though it didn't seem like there were a whole lot of them. Many of them being something that was released more in the 90s and early 2000s. But with the popularity of the franchise and the rise in the digital media side of the Warhammer brand, it does appear that there have been more recent releases with little attempts to give people a little extra formats behind the lore. There's one group of characters that I do know about and much of this comes from seeing really cool art from some of the original artists behind the Games Workshop brand. And these characters are known as the Adepta Sororitas. This is an all-female group of warriors, to which a specific division of the Adepta Sororitas carries most of the attention: the Sisters of Battle. I mean, that's a pretty cool name, isn't it? And their designs show a hard edge to them that certainly shows them as battle hardened. I thought it'd be cool to first check out the comic that focuses on this group, to get a little glimpse into the lore while also enjoying yet another comic series. Yes, I am addicted. No, I will not stop reading them. Though I admit I was sceptical of the quality of this comic before going into it. I really didn't expect it to be something that would have a good story, good writing, and especially have a good art style. I assumed it would've been a smaller story with a cheaper look to it. This was published by Marvel, which I guess should've been a bit more telling.
The comic's story is told over five total volumes, which was surprising given that's quite a decent run for a more niche story like this. I was really surprised from the very start at how good the comic was, from the art style which really showcased the cool environments of the Warhammer 40K universe as well as the character designs. One thing that really stood out was the more gory nature to it. Certainly incredibly violent. And this was met with a really good use of creative perspectives that gave a lot of the action sequences a lot more weight to them. I found it quite immersive as a result of the art style and creative perspectives, which also really amplified the cooler nature of the Adepta Sororitas. Mixed with this, the comic actually went out of its way in parts to give us a rundown on what the Adepta Sororitas actually are, and how they're broken down into numerous categories. I liked that it didn't do this with a heavy dialogue focus, instead it was done between panels. Little breaks in the art and the comic, with just a few tables and bit of text which explains some things to us, assuming we are totally new. In my case, I was rather new. Only knowing of the Sisters of Battle characters but not the other sides to it all, which gave more depth to them as it was made clear that they had various roles to play, from being medics to more diplomatic measures.
The story in the comic focuses on the Sisters of Battle arriving on a planet with the intent of recovering a lost item, while also focusing heavily on a political aspect of the city's recent developments. The Sisters of Battle being people happy to kill and hunt are tasked with the purpose of bringing down a revolutionary group that have been starting a bit of an uprise. These are known as heretics for their rejection of the Emperor. Heretics are seen as people that aren't really people, subhuman even. They aren't given any rights to live or a trial. It's a case of instant and brutal death upon the discovery of heresy. For the Sisters of Battle, their task isn't just bringing the uprising to an end, but ensuring that the heretics of all sorts are given death. This leads to a lot of interesting moments in the comic where the Sisters of Battle happily pull the trigger, leading to gory moments in which heads explode and it's clear that the fight is a significantly uneven one. Groups of hardly-armed individuals against the Sisters of Battle with their huge weapons and armour. But the story isn't without its moments in which the sisters take a bit of a beating too. I quite liked these moments because the story handled them in a way in which death meant very little to them. There's no idea of regret. Not even the feeling of great sacrifice for the Emperor. It's just death.
I quite like that the comic's events don't have us necessarily on the side of the Sisters of Battle, there's plenty of conflicting events that have us somewhat starting to question their actions, reviving that religious fanaticism and the idea of heresy. The citizens of the planet claiming humans are just meat for the Gods. And asking them why they fight for an Emperor that they have not seen. Very valid points that show the brutal nature of these warriors and their refusal to back down. It adds that layer to the violence that somewhat churns the stomach, seeing how these two sides don't respect each other or see them as reasonable foes. That brutal nature of war that comes with removing the idea of humanity from the opposition. The Sisters of Battle don't even bother to give answers to such questions, for them it's more insulting to listen to the words of a heretic. It definitely exacerbates things as they continue to press forward into the planet towards its core. Their foes starting to differ up from regular warriors, to citizens, and then the chaos begins. I assumed I would start to grow tired of the comic after the third volume given how it managed to essentially be about violence for the most part, but that momentum kept things going. Panel after panel. Where the narrative would sometimes switch between perspectives, even to the leader of the uprising.
The whole thing was a pleasant surprise. And it was a great experience to see a comic with some really intense action to it. Especially with the fact that the art itself was good. I definitely came out of this wanting more, and with a newfound interest in exploring more of the Warhammer 40k lore. Something tells me this is just the start of another new addiction.
The Warhammer 40K universe is a fairly unique one amongst long-running science fiction properties, in that unlike Star Wars, Star Trek, and other futuristic settings, even its most ardent fans would not want to live there. :)
One of the best things about the universe is how comically overpowered everything seems. If you look at what goes into the creation of a single Space Marine devoid of context, it seems absurd: these guys are nine foot tall behemoths possessing superhuman strength and agility, an organ that auto-filters poisons from their system, the ability to spit literal acid, insta-clot blood, a reinforced skeleton right beneath their skin that renders them impervious to small arms fire, backup organs including a second heart in case the first one gets damaged, and of course the iconic power armor that not only protects them from heavier artillery, but also lets them wield a pistol which is the equivalent of a modern-day rapid-fire rocket launcher in one hand and a massive sword complete with a chainsaw blade in the other. And these guys travel around in squads, with buddies who carry bigger versions of those rapid-fire rocket launchers, flame throwers, plasma launchers, and gauntlets that make things explode just by punching them. On the face of things, that's nuts, and it only gets crazier when you learn about Space Marine Terminators, who are bigger, tougher, carry even heavier weaponry, and come with even more protective armor.
But then you look at what the average Space Marine is dispatched to fight, and you realize even the most hilariously over-powered version of these guys is statistically unlikely to survive their first encounter on the battlefield. And literally every faction in 40K is built like this.
Games Workshop has done a great job over the last several decades building up the lore of their setting, then expanding on it with top-notch writers and artists. Honestly, the biggest knock against it is that, like many comic franchises, it has grown so large that it's almost impossible for a newcomer to figure out where to start. I'd say you did it the best way, by finding a faction that appealed to you and diving right in. The Adepta Sororitas and Imperial Guard are both great gateways in that you're dealing with main characters who are entirely (or almost entirely) human.
I look forward to seeing what you explore next! :D
I definitely have an interest in it all, but like you said there's so much to it that it definitely can seem overwhelming with figuring out where to start. I am British so I spent my life walking by Games Workshop buildings and seeing the Warhammer books all over the place, but it's something that I never knew had so much depth to it back then, I really thought it was just about the models growing up, completely oblivious that there was actually an entire game around them beyond just painting and collecting. It wasn't until about two or three years ago that I came across Karl Kopinski's art. He was one of the artists that worked at Games Workshop back in the day and has some truly incredible paintings. The first I stumbled across were the Sisters of Battle. From there I did notice an interest appearing when it came to the art side of things. If you haven't seen his works before, I highly recommend looking his Warhammer art up.
I can tell that the franchise hasn't had the best attention when it comes to games, I have a few of them that I haven't been able to play and I'm really wanting to get into them. I started Space Marine before I went travelling, and the sequel that came out looks beautiful. I started going through Mechanicus too but didn't get too far into that. I'm going to go through some more of the comics and just take in what I can, I did see that Marvel handled the publishing of a few others over the last few years.
If you have any recommendations on comics or even the games, feel free to suggest some! I would have a bit more interest in the books but they definitely aren't available in Georgia and I don't have the time to jump into so many books all at once at the moment.
I love it. The scale of it all too. Things like Imperator-class Titans are just so silly but at the same time so cool and deeply threatening. Basically a big walking church with gigantic guns on it. I think it's that over-the-top science fiction side of it that is suddenly just pulling me in. I have always loved fantasy and science fiction, and the two being mixed together in such ridiculous ways definitely speaks to me. I do think getting into it all now is a great time with how much more attention to detail the franchise seems to be getting. The quality of games over the past few years has definitely been increasing. And I think they're realising that there's a massive amount of interest in it.
There's a bit of a learning curve to it, but Space Hulk: Deathwing is a fun Looter Shooter set inside the Olethros, a gigantic dead ship teeming with Genestealers and Tyranids. It's sort of like Borderlands mixed with Diablo. There are some free DLC packs for it as well as a function that lets you replay the game with procedurally-generated missionss for every chapter, so it's always a new experience. They did really well with this one, IMO.
Book-wise, the Caiphas Cain stories by Sandy Mitchell are great starting points. Cain is a hilarious protagonist, an exceptionally-skilled yet world-weary Commissar of the Imperial Guard who does everything he possibly can to be where the fighting is not, yet always winds up in the thick of things through some twist of fate. Cain's actions usually result in him saving the lives of the people under his command while accidentally delivering decisive blows to whatever foe they are facing, so the Guardsmen view him as one of the most heroic leaders of the Imperium, when he sees himself as anything but. Hero of the Imperium is an omnibus collection of the first three novels in the series, with a few short stories thrown in as well. And if you enjoy that, there are something like seven additional novels and another ten or so short stories detailing his exploits.
Death World by Steve Lyons is another enjoyable Imperial Guard novel, very much in the vein of the first Predator film, where you have a group of highly-trained badasses going up against a colony of Orks who have set up shop on an incredibly dangerous planet.
The Book of Martyrs is an Adepta Sororitas omnibus that you'll probably enjoy too, since you liked the comic so much.
I like that the main characters are women, I really like the art, it looks very interesting, I also like when they explain how the ecosystem works where the characters live, it allows you to go deeper into that world, thanks for sharing this nice post.
Warhammer 40,000 showcases the idea that there aren't really any "good guys" among the factions in the universe. Humanity is ruled by a theocratic totalitarian dictatorship. Rebel factions are usually influenced by alien hybrids who are advanced scouts for a horde of ravenous monsters, literal demonic influences warping people into monstrosities, or the like. The Sisters of Battle are among the more religiously motivated forces in the Imperium of Man, so no surprise they have such an attitude toward killing and death.
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You forgot grimdark XD So very grimdark. I feel like it's the ridiculous shenanigans of the orcs and the existence of Nurgle (the wholesomeness does not stop it from being thoroughly horrifying) that stops it from being completely and utterly depressing.
You haven't met many players? XD
There is at least some truth to that. Youngest has been chasing some new box set that he's interested in that came out recently but said that the pre-order was sold out at every discount website he knows about (and some that he didn't until recently) so he's going to have to try to come up with the money for the full price in a hurry (and I think it might be a bit much for him in that space of time). Could just be that everyone over east is buying them up as I don't think there's a huge number of players here (or at least not in our local area, don't know about the rest of the city).
Youngest has told me about the Adepta Sororitas, he referred to them as "Nuns with Guns" (so I guess that's what they're commonly called XD).
I think that Space Marines game that you unfortunately can't play (seems to require some pretty big specs) might be the one that youngest got, I remember him being terribly excited about it and really enjoying it, though he did say that the loading times were quite excessive (he could start it up, walk away to get a drink or a snack and then come back and it might be done or close enough). So probably something to look forward to if you like that kind of thing when you can finally get to a rig that's decent enough to run it (definitely not a MacBook Pro which from memory is what you're rocking at the moment?).
Just as a warning in the unlikely event you weren't already aware, there's a LOT of 40k lore x_x
I have already forgotten more than I ever wanted to know to begin with that's how much there is and how much youngest has been regaling me XD
I don't know if you were ever into roleplaying games but there's also a (pretty old now and doesn't look like it will ever get updates) roleplaying system called Dark Heresy, I kind of vaguely glanced at it as something I could possibly play with youngest seeing as he doesn't like World/Chronicles of Darkness and I don't like Dungeons and Dragons but given Warhammer I'm not sure I'd be able to run it as the last time I tried to run Shadowrun-adjacent (I was testing out a homebrew system in the Shadowrun universe as I've moved a long way away from crunchy systems and Shadowrun 3e was pretty crunchy) I didn't enjoy it which mildly surprised me as I remember loving Shadowrun when I first played it, but I think looking back I just kind of got depressed as it seemed to reflect real life a bit too closely now.
Enjoy your new addiction, at least comics aren't quite as expensive as the models XD
I imagine it's like a real star wars movie but in a much longer version of the story. sci fi is always interesting but its form is very convoluted.