Review -- FACELESS SOLDIERS

FACELESS SOLDIERS
Art by Steven Golebiewski
Written by Steven Golebiewski

Period piece stories are always intriguing to me and that is the first thing which caught attention with Steven Golebiewski's Faceless Soldiers #1. The writer/artist has set the story in Poland in the years just after the First World War. It's an interesting locale and era against which to set a story.Golebiewski said the setting was one he had a connection too, so he used it.
“Being 100 per cent Polish myself, I already knew a decent amount of Polish history and geography ... but I still studied extensively,” Golebiewski explained via email. “Library books, Internet, interviewing relatives, you name it. Since my story has large amounts of horrific fantasy, I wanted the real stuff to be as real as possible.”
In the case of Faceless Soldiers, we have a story which draws on the reality of a post-war era in a volatile area of Eastern Europe, a foundation Golebiewski uses to good effect, as he begins to create a nicely twisted tale of weird undead creatures harrowing a village.
Again Golebiewski draws on his heritage for inspiration.
“The story was sparked by a combination of my love for the supernatural and the stories told by my grandparents. My grandfather and grandmother were raised in Poland, and were only children when World War 2 hit them,” he said. “Needless to say, they've seen a lot in their time. “Their stories always involved the military (their own or foreign), survival, and hard times.
“The idea for my story first came to me when I realized something; all of their stories were extremely down to earth. No fantasy, no mythical monsters, no ancient folklore. My grandparents were faced with real horrors for their entire lives, so any kind of fantastical horror just seemed childish to them.
“That's when I got the idea, what if those supernatural horrors weren't so mythical? What if my grandparents were faced with inhuman enemies? Would they know what to do? Would they know where to start? What would they even call these monsters? With those questions, Faceless Soldiers was born.”
With an already stark time in terms of real history, and the addition of undead, the black and white rendered art works well here. Golebiewski's style has just the right blend of realism and interpretative flare to work. The art has just enough crudeness to fit what the story is portraying. It wouldn't work as well for a costumed-hero tale, but it works here.
The book is quite unique in its blend of historical era, and realism twisted with myth. It fits into a niche where there is a ton of comics, and that too is good, since variety is generally a positive. Golebiewski said that was sort of what he himself looks for in a comic.
“This book is my dream book. It's the type of book where, if I didn't make it myself and saw it on the rack, I'd b-line to it,” he said.
As a creator, Golebiewski said he is also pretty happy with what is his debut comic release, although he notes “I've been making comics since I was eight-years-old all the way to the end of college. However they're all locked away securely. For my own sake, as well as the sake of others..”
“Overall, I'm happy with it's turnout and how it's coming along,” he said. “The story, as I've said before, is my ideal mix of supernatural and real life horrors. My art style has always had a dark or evil twist to it, which also caters to the story. I've had some criticisms about both departments, but I've been working everyday to improve. The great thing about drawing, and writing your story is you can always change or tweak things at the last minute. It's insanely hard work, but there's nothing like having complete control over your own idea!”
The entire story will be told in the span of five issues, which the creator said will later be condensed into a graphic novel. He added, he already has ideas for potential sequels as well, which is intriguing news given the hook of Issue #1 of this tale.
This is definitely an independently produced comic that should be found and enjoyed. A very solid debut, and a story that leaves you wanting Issue #2 to arrive soon.
You can purchase Faceless Soldier at http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1781

-- CALVIN DANIELS

-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra