Writer / Penciller / Colour Artist / Letterer: Michael Avon Oeming / Designer: Hannah Noble / Digital Art Technician: Joey Weaver / Editors: Daniel Chabon, Chuck Howitt-Lease, Misha Gehr / TP / Collects: William of Newbury #1-#4 / Dark Horse Comics
Date 11th February 2025 (Released: 22nd January 2025)
Review by Paul Dunne
The Pitch: From the co-creator of the Eisner Award-winning, bestselling Powers comes this brand-new anthropomorphic supernatural series that's Hellboy meets Redwall. Loosely based on real events in 12th century England during what was known as "The Anarchy," a time when the country was beset with plague, civil war, and demons. William of Newbury is a neurotic monk, fearful of the earthly world, but confident and unwavering in the face of true evil. He fights the dead to restore peace, but his brother is intent on stopping him, fearing for his soul. Newbury is dark, yet quaint, deadly yet cute. Follow him as he negotiates with thieves, evades his brother and the church, and battles the undead and evil spirits.
Anthropomorphic animals. There are a few of them about in comics at the moment. There's the classics, Grandville and Blacksad. This year, we've had the invigorating, sinister Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees from Patrick Horvath. And now this, from Michael Avon Oeming, which like those others carves out its own corner of a pre-existing genre, in this case, the folkloric, religion-based medieval thriller. It's a thing, believe me. It's the kind of space occupied in a more modern milieu by Hellboy. Speaking of Hellboy, one of the adjectives that will be bandied about for this book will doubtless include 'Mignola-Esque'. But I think that's a little lazy and dismissive of Oeming's abilities, despite the high praise implied. Look closer and you'll see. Where Mignola has embraced sparsity, Oeming adds detail. Where Mignola would paint the world black and red, Oeming adds a wider palette. This detracts from neither creator. I'm just pointing out that each has their own style, despite similarities and they both play to their (considerable) strengths.
We're introduced to a racoon named Bill, a kind of exorcist or paranormal investigator Monk in Newbury, a sleepy part of Olde England. Although affiliated with the Church, is not of it. He lives up to his breed. He's curious, and nervous. So nervous, in fact, that steep stairs and spiders worry him. But he is also good at what he does. Bill's brother is a goat and also a monk, proving on the surface at least that animals are more capable of looking beyond the surface than humans are. The church has one eye on the purse strings at all times. One day, a separation of church and state may occur, but there'll never be a separation of religion and money. Bill's brother disapproves of what he does. You wonder how much of that comes from fear? After all, he's a man who cavorts with the dead devil, is he not? Bill gets sent on the road to Buckinghamshire, to do a favour for a friend, whose sister is being haunted by her dead husband, but is set upon by a gang of thieves on the way, who rather than robbing him, bring him into their gang. Poverty breeds ambition in the thieves Bill meets on the road. They too are feeling the pinch. One of them wants to own land. Thwarted ambition is rife in plague-smothered England. Knowledge is power in this place and time and the ability to read and write opens doors. William may yet become worth his weight in gold to these thieves. Especially to one in particular, Winnie, who offers to protect Bill in exchange for his teachings. But it's not just the way of the word that Bill can teach Winnie. As the young thief accompanies Bill on his supernatural pursuits, her eyes are opened to a wider, perhaps even more dangerous world.
For a book that features funny little talking animals dressing and behaving as men, William of Newbury is actually a serious comic and surprisingly, based on a true story. I won’t spoil it for you here, as Oeming discusses it in the book’s back matter, and it’s going to be better relayed from him than it is from me. Newbury becomes a story about two brothers battling for their souls in a time when the soul mattered to a person. Set against the backdrop of the period in English history known as ‘The Anarchy’, Newbury manages to feature at least two of the four horsemen of the apocalypse War and Plague, both of which William and Winnie must face to one degree or another throughout the book. Bill and Winnie’s growing friendship, which despite the circumstances of their meeting
Reading this, I found myself wondering how much of an anglophile Oeming is. There are traces of Derek Jacobi's Cadfael here and he’s even name-checked in the book, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Oeming is at the very least aware of the show or the books on which it’s based. Like a good series of books, which function as single stories yet still feel part of a whole, the separate issues could work as one-shot stories but work fantastically as a short series. Oeming wrings genuinely heartfelt moments out of this, which in its bones, once you strip away the bells and whistles of the supernatural, is a story about brothers and uneasy friends learning to come to terms with each other. As an artist, Oeming switches between big, religious tableaus and dynamic close-ups, and a beautiful, etched style with moments of beautiful, luminous colour. As single issues, this was one of my favourites of 2024. As a trade, this will be on people’s best-of lists, including mine! More please, Mr. Oeming!
William of Newbury is available at your local comic shop now.
