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A Very Secret History Indeed

Published Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:00:00 -0500

AMICULUS: A SECRET HISTORY Volume II: Flagellum Dei, Travis Horseman, Writer/Creator, Giancarlo Caracuzzo, Artist. Kickstarter ends: Thursday, July 16

Did Rome fall…or was it "pushed?" This lost history continues as a terrifying new Scourge of God drives the Roman Empire ever closer to the brink…
The Roman Empire Strikes Back: Amiculus, Volume II

Travis Horseman writes,

It has been suggested that the second (or fifth, if you must) installment of the Star Wars saga, The Empire Strikes Back, retains its near-perfect status as a sequel because of its choice to move from a vast canvas of galactic civil war, epic fleet battles and planet-killing space stations to a smaller, more intimate story of the people who inhabit this universe. It focuses on the tangled relationships and conflicts between master and servant, mentor and student, lover and lover, father and son, increasing the audience's investment and raising the stakes in future installments.

I don't possess the chutzpah that would let me claim that Amiculus: Volume II is the next Empire. However, this second chapter of the trilogy makes to raise the stakes in the same way, delving into the shadowy past of the major players in this game for civilization itself.

Volume I: Roma Aeterna (released on Amazon in March) starts with a blare of trumpets and a crash of drums, with a resurgent Eastern Roman Empire hell-bent on reconquering its lost western half from the Goths. A narration recounts the "heroism" of the armies laying waste to the West in order to save it, and recounts the dishonor of Romulus, the West's 12-year-old last emperor, who lost it to the barbarians in the first place sixty years earlier.

This narrator, determined to prevent a second fall of Rome, discovers a lost account of Rome's last day written by the boy-emperor himself. It introduces a wild card into the mix: a heretofore unknown saboteur called "Amiculus," at whose feet lay the real reason for Rome's destruction. He enters the world of this history, and the struggle for western civilization, complete with Amiculus's machinations to destroy it, plays out once more.

Volume II: Flagellum Dei maintains the action and urgency of the first book, yet refocuses the camera, delving deep into the pasts and shadowy motivations of its three main characters. It examines the forlorn child-emperor, Romulus, and the inner turmoil threatening to tear him apart…

His father, Orestes, with his brutal lust for power and twisted history with Attila the Hun…

And hints at the origin and true nature of Amiculus himself.

Volume II will add tantalizing new pieces to the puzzle, deepening the conspiracy, intrigue and personal tragedy and laying the groundwork for the explosive series conclusion in Volume III, which, despite my Star Wars flogging above, promises no Ewoks.

Bleeding Cool Kickstarter Mini-Stretch: If we can get 40 new backers to the campaign within seven days of the appearance of this article in Bleeding Cool, I will provide all backers with digital downloads of a six-poster set of the principal Amiculus characters in 8×10 size, complete with biographies! Be sure to message the campaign if you are coming to us from Bleeding Cool.

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