Gangsters Versus Nazis #1 is a comic written by Matt Garvey with art by Andrea Schiavone. Nazis are attempting to invade the USA during World War II and only the mafia can stop them. This is a historical fiction comic with some stealth, espionage, and interesting characters. The first person we meet is FBI agent Lucy Ages who is patrolling the docks in anticipation of the Nazis. It is on these docks where we meet some mafia members and their leader Sal. We’ll also meet some Nazi soldiers and scientist-types. The story begins with a bit of historical information about the mafia during World War II before we start following Lucy Ages as she searches the docks. She eventually runs into some members of the mafia before the story turns its focus on the Nazis. The action is physical with no blood or gore. The pacing is steady and the tone is a mix of lighthearted and serious. The intense moments here can be eerie and are scattered throughout. The dialogue here is mostly conversational and tends to be aggressive. No word-heavy pages. This is a debut comic that sets the scene and introduces the characters in an interesting story about the mafia going up against Nazis.

            The art here sports thick lines and is cartoonish with style. The colors are mostly low tone with rare bright spots. Light and shadows play a big role here as this takes place at night. The scenery here is cargo boxes and the sky due to the main location for this story being a dock. Many areas of the dock are visited and there are some scenes taking place on a ship. The backgrounds either show the scene or are a solid color with shade or action lines. The expression level here is slightly below average as the majority of these characters have stiff, barely changing faces. Shock, fear, and anger are the main looks with the occasional devilish grin. The violence here is very of the time but isn’t bloody or gory. There is only one action scene and it is all contained in one panel.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories set during World War II and that involve the mafia and Nazis with stealth and espionage elements then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

PG-13. Violence.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“…don’t worry we ain’t gonna hurt you.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattgarvey/gangsters-versus-nazis-1/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24

Violent Pages: 1, for 4% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 2

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 1

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”