Assassin's Creed: The Fall Deluxe Edition
written by Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl
illustrated by Karl Kerschl, Cameron Stewart and Nadine Thomas
ISBN: 978-2-924006-01-6
Product tie-ins, especially books or films based on or adapted from another medium, particularly the gaming and toy industries, often tend to disappoint and not live up to the expectations and reverence audiences hold for the original product. Yet, in this culture of transmedia where 1980s action figures or cartoons become summer Hollywood, live-action blockbusters or successful television properties are developed into contemporary throwaway, supermarket fiction, it is inescapable. Unlike film, television, or video games, sequential art relies on an entirely different set of tools to present and develop an ongoing, engaging narrative structure. Perhaps this is one of the primary reasons cinematic translations of comics and graphic novels are so uneven; however, combining the talents of illustrators Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl, Assassin's Creed: The Fall Deluxe Edition is a model example of how adaptations should be done.
Even for someone who has never played let alone seen any of the Assassin's Creed video games, the recently published collected edition will come across as a beautiful work of original, innovative fiction not beholden to gaming continuity or plot devices. As such, it will appeal to a wide and diverse audience who favor the mystery and espionage genres. Focusing on a parallel narrative between a 19th-century Russian assassin named Nikolai Orelov and modern-day misanthrope Daniel Cross, Assassin's Creed interweaves the two lives throughout, teasing their potential relationship in the process. Originally published as a three-issue miniseries, the book is remarkable for its ability to deal with and develop intriguing origin stories for Orelov and Cross yet not succumb to long-winded expository narration that befalls many comics in similar short and limited formats.
Even without the inclusion of the deluxe-edition extra features that discuss the collaboration between Kerschl, Stewart, and colorist Nadine Thomas, including the research trips to Russia the three took to ensure visual accuracy, tone, and feel to the story, the graphic components of the book are stunning. Not beholden to the traditional assigned penciller and inker or illustrator and writer roles, Stewart and Kerschl's work is a true partnership, as evidenced by the seamless transitions, textual flow, and story progression. Although pencillers, inkers, and colorists share the art duties, rarely does the teamwork occur within the same studio, as was the case with Assassin's Creed. As Stewart revealed to me, "We pretty much just jammed on it. Writing it, we sat together and hashed out the plot by talking it all through, then each took individual scenes and wrote the final script (after the art was done), and we would often tweak and rewrite each other's scenes until we were both satisfied." Shelving ego in favor of producing a quality publication, Stewart and Kerschl worked and reworked, if necessary, the other's pages. The result is a tantalizing, visual puzzle in which it is impossible to differentiate where one artist begins and the other ends. Kerschl and Stewart's partnership is the modern-day update to the original Marvel method of scriptwriting and comics production. Sharing studio space, bouncing story ideas and plot concepts off each other, and creating the pages in unison, the two also display the importance and impact of how digital tools have transformed the industry, particularly the ease in which pages can be shared and immediately altered.
Strengthening this even further is the intensity of Nadine Thomas' colors. Having worked previously with Stewart on the variant cover for Batman The Return of Bruce Wayne #4 and Kerschl on covers for Spider-Man Marvel Adventures, her palette is a natural fit for their line work. While the majority of Thomas' hues are cast in warmer tones and darker fills, the shifts into cooler sequences still resonate. The two-page spread toward the end of Chapter 2 after Tesla activates his device and Orelov confiscates the Eden staff is evidence of her abilities. In the end, the pages are evocative with a potency seldom experienced in recent memory.
Readers' hesitance or reluctance to give a video game adaptation a cursory or even passing glance on the store shelves is natural, yet unfounded in this situation as Kerschl, Stewart, and Thomas deliver. Fortunately, the much too short series is slated for a sequel in mid 2012. Assassin's Creed: The Fall Deluxe Edition is an amazing book and UbiSoft deserves recognition for publishing such a wealth of behind the scenes features to supplement the publication.
