(W) Peter Milligan (A) Juan Jose Ryp (CA) Cary Nord. Valiant's critically acclaimed* 10-time sold-out magnum opus returns with a brand-new journey into myth and mystery* from comics master Peter Milligan (Shade* the Changing Man) and incendiary artist Juan Jos Ryp (BRITANNIA)! 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.