Assassins Creed - Leila (Vol. 6)

Review by Paul Fiander
​by Eric Corbeyran (Author),Djilalli Defali (Artist)
Cyril Vincent (Colourist)
​Published by Titan Books
Assassin's Creed is one of the deepest wells for storytelling in gaming, the Animus allows its user the ability to search their “DNA history" to link with their ancestors. The vast amount of cultures open to the game's creators have given trips to Renaissance Italy, Civil War America, Revolutionary France and in its latest addition Victorian England. This however has left some of history's greatest cultures unexplored but thanks to the A.C. Comics we are getting a broader range of stories including Leila.

Leila explores one of the richest cultures in history,  Egypt. Though in the more recent 14th Century, rather than ancient times. The Assassin's and the Templar’s are after the Scepter of Aset in the present day (well close to in 1999) but are using two Ancestors to help with the hunt in the 14th century. The story plays out with multiple twists and turns that keep readers on their toes. This is in part due to the dual timelines but more to do with the pacing injected by Eric Corbeyran. The narrative dances around the fate of the scepter but in the end gives a satisfying conclusion with a twist.

The art by Djilalli Defali is a wonderful bag of textures and angular features. From the smooth lines of the technical facility in 1999 to the now weather worn temples of Egypt everything feels functional fire the plot. I will say though I preferred the Egyptian depictions though that may just be a personal biased due to my affection for the country's history. The dedication to detail of the period helps to draw you in and the fact they used placed like Edfu show more than a passing knowledge of the area. Of course when we need action Defali is able to inject the reactions we would expect from the Brotherhood of Assassins.

Competing the visuals we have Cyril Vincent applying a rich layer of colour to the project. His skill in allowing the art to retain its fluidity is top drawer but his colour palette choices are the real winner. The Oranges and Reds of Egypt act as a contrast to the litter blues used to depict the present day. This allows for an easier read as we are literally coaxed into the timeline jumps.

The book itself is a lovely hardback and the printing allows for the subtlety of the art & colours to really shine through. This is a perfect read for fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise and shows that when a licensed property is crafted outside of the confines of canon it can reap enormously satisfying results

Same publisher different Assassin.