This is the first of five in a mini-series about a gladiator who is bestowed an unnatural ability. As soon as I read the first page I was sucked in. The first panel tells us about our main character, who was a gladiator in Spartacus's army (awesome and I'm in). Aquila is an anti-hero, could you have a gladiator thrown into a war any other way? There's a good 30 pages of story/art. The story moves on at a clip, so much happens. I re-read it immediately after finishing, on the second read through I was impressed with how much they crammed into those pages.

I don't want to spoil anything, I do want to whet your appetite though. So Aquila (think WWE wrestler, one of the big ones) begins the story crucified on a cross. He begs for release and is endowed gifts of Regeneration (Wolverine on steroids). No bonds can hold him either, so he is effectively an ancient Roman super hero.

The artwork is a dirty gritty style that really works for the time period that's being shown. Panels are well positioned to accentuate the action, of which there is a lot. The action is well drawn and brutal.

Score: 4/5

Aquila #1 Writer: Gordon Rennie Artist: Leigh Gallagher Colorist: Dylan Teague and Gary Caldwell Publisher: 2000 AD Price: $3.99 Release Date: 4/15/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital