A dark story that takes the famous stock market crash of 1929 as its starting point. But the story behind the accepted historical facts is older, an ancient tale of blood sacrifice to demonic forces. Hickman goes a bit overboard with the world-building. His Western and Eastern Schools of Economics are actual member organizations, and his focal Wall Street business (Caina Investment Bank) is presented with a whole history, and a Board with supernatural responsibilities. There are also faux historical documents, like police transcripts, newspaper stories and diary entries--not to mention an invented ancient language that resembles cuneiform (which some of the characters actually speak). Fortunately it is not necessary to dive deeply into his occult diagrams and organization charts to follow the story.
The story opens on Black Thursday (Oct. 24, 1929), the beginning of the stock market crash that caused the Great Depression. The occult underpinnings of the market are graphically demonstrated by the sacrifice of a member of the Caina Board. From there the scene shifts to the present (2016), where another ritual sacrifice has been found in an office building. It's Daniel Rothschild (of the famous financier family), managing partner at Caina. Another important piece of history takes place at the Berlin Wall in 1985, where the Western and Eastern schools meet at a portal into the underworld, celebrating an upcoming stock market crash.
The story ends with what appears to be a major Rothschild power grab, an unsurprising event in a group where family members literally eat each other to gain power. I have a business background (even hold an MBA!) so I may find the investment banking setting much more interesting than most. But it's a story that could be set in any place of power--government, or a mass media outlet, for instance. As a kind of alternate history, it is similar to Hickman's earlier creator-owned series The Manhattan Projects (which I absolutely loved). Tomm Coker's artwork is some of the best Hickaman has had from a collaborator, precisely the realistic, dark and spooky look the subject requires. A bonus section presents sketches of cover designs and character studies.
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