VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT FIRST LOOKS -- BRITANNIA: WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE #1

Written by: Peter Milligan.

Art by: Juan Jose Ryp.

Covers by: Cary Nord, David Mack, Adam Gorham, Dave Johnson.

Description: Rome's most brilliant investigative mind, Antonius Axia, returns to examine a brutal series of murders seemingly committed by none other than the wrathful god Apollo! As Axia navigates the height of Nero's empire -- from the blood-stained depths of the gladiatorial arena to the sordid palaces of the Roman elite -- will he find the truth...or simply terror?

Fifty thousand Romans stand on their feet, watching from the rafters of the Coliseum with captured breath as Achillia, a gladiator unlike any that Rome has seen before, faces incredible odds -- one lone warrior against five of Rome's greatest. Such is the tradition, when a female gladiator enters the fray. When the carnage is complete, the Coliseum roars its approval as Achillia stands victorious. Now, only one match away from winning her freedom, she has begun to gain renown. The women of Rome, suppressed by their husbands and fathers, have noticed. The men of Rome, husbands and fathers to a growing horde of women entertaining ideas of independence, have noticed as well.

On the other side of Rome, a strange mystery swirls through the Palatine Hill. In the dead of night, down winding alleys, Rome's elite swear that they see visions of a blood-soaked Apollo walking the city...visions that are driving them mad. Even more are becoming sick with weird fever god-dreams. Panic ensues in the city. The Chief Vestal, Rubria, is arrested by Emperor Nero and threatened with crucifixion unless the deadly curse that's fallen on Rome is lifted. She asks Antonius Axia, hero of Britannia and Rome's only detective, for help. She offers only one clue...the gladiator Achillia.

Pages: 32.

Price: $3.99.

In stores: April 26.