I've decided I'd like to take the time to get on my little soap box in order to get some ground support swelling for a book I can't help but feel is not on anyone's pull list but me...

Before going in to the merits of issue #8 (which is actually Book 1 of Volume 2), let me give a little background info on The Secret History, and why it justifies the soap box. If you were a fan of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, and similar stories, then this should be right up your alley. First, it should be noted how the publishing upheaval at Archaia sent this one into limbo for a while. The first four issues came out in 2007 (two on the same day), and the fifth in early 2008.  Then "Archaia Studios Press" went haywire, and I didn't see issues 6 & 7 until around November 2009, after they re-structured into plain 'ol "Archaia." That was a huge shame, because this is one of those books that you really need to "stick with" through the first few issues before it all starts to come together.  The first seven issues (i.e., Volume 1) may be at your LCBS, but not mine--so you're on your own as far as getting caught up. The hardcover collection for Book 1, is bit pricey ($35.00), but trust me, its totally worth it. This is one of those series I can go back and re-read a dozen+ times and each time I manage to find some cool little detail I missed before.

Explaining the premise is really complicated, and while I may not be able to do it much justice, but here is my best try at summing up so far:

Four immortal brothers and sisters (called "Archons") are entrusted with ivory cards (rune stones) in the dawn of prehistory, each bearing a different symbol: the House of the Chalice, the House of the Lance, the House of the Sword and the House of the Shield. Warned by a dying shaman never to use the cards together, they fail to heed that warning and the power behind the rune stones consumes them in a struggle to influence and shape the entire history of Western Civilization according to his or her individual purpose. DYO, holder of the Chalice that gives life and brings healing, but it can also bear forth hideous creatures and call down plagues. REKA, holder of the Lance that never misses its mark, but bares with it bloodlust wrought by the most savage madness. AKER, holder of the Sword that is both foe-slayer and kingmaker, but will also strike down the guilty and innocent alike. ERLIN, holder of the Shield that protects others and brings them wisdom, but is easily undone by those who give into the lust for pride that follows. Their plans, both known and unknown, will eventually be affected when a mysterious fifth Archon emerges onto the world's stage, with a rune stone that symbolizes something mysterious and far more sinister than either sibling ever imagined.

Volume One follows their immortal conflict--and periodic alliances--captured through a secret occult history of the world told in seven chapters: Book One (Moses' challenge to the Pharaoh); Book Two (The Knights Templar and the origin behind the Holy Grail myth); Book Three (The Pope's extermination of the Cathars); Book Four (Nostradamus' travels in Italy); Book Five (The Spanish Armada and the Great Fire of London); Book Six (Napoleon's conquest of Egypt); and Book Seven (The Angel of Mons appearing over the trenches of World War I).

My guess if that you were a fan of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, for example, (or similar stories) then this should be right up your alley. I believe it was somewhere around Book Three when the story's pieces really start coming together and those "ah-ha" moments begin to roll.  But Book 8 blows all the previous issues right out of the water, taking place where Book 7 left off (in historical terms anyway)--at the end of WWI.  Suddely a new understanding of everything that came before--going all the way back to the first three pages of the first book--is laid on the table.  I realize this review sounds more like an advertisement for everything that came before #8---that is really all I can do without explaining every minute detail (while skipping over all the key details I won't realize even exist until the next (or 17th) time I go back and re-read this. So just PLEASE check this awesome book out.

Final bit of trivia: The Secret History was originally published in France by Delcourt. Its written by a French author, historian, and former history professor named Jean-Pierre Pecau--who also somehow managed to find time during his career to become known for his contributions working for the first company to translate Dungeons & Dragons into French. Not to mention  he is also the designer of the first RPG game made in France (called The Final Test). If that's not enough, his prior graphic novel work includes a book titled Le Grand Jen, which is some kind of "loose adaptation" of Melville's Moby Dick. This guy must be a total dick to have to bump into at your high school reunion...