Writer: Bjorn Klein
Artist: Lucia Faccini
Black Ties Press, May/June 2026
Black Ties: In Gods We Trust is the kind of book that invites a comparison to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Where American Gods is steeped in mythology, however, Black Ties is rooted in the present, using a divinity framework not to explore ancient systems of belief, but to dissect how those systems might mutate and thrive within modern politics. Assuming, of course, that gods are real.
Set on Olympic Hill in the Divine Capital, the story centers on Eldur Vanstone, a fire god and senator whose life is already in freefall. His career is collapsing, his personal life isn’t much better, and the political machine around him is more than willing to turn him into a convenient sacrifice. In a move that feels less strategic and more like desperation in a tailored suit, Eldur aligns himself with the Divine Modernist Party, a group that operates like a finely tuned engine of influence. Their specialities, ideological theater and theological rebranding say everything about how power functions in this world.
Bjorn Klein is the writer. Mr Klein’s writing is at its strongest when it frames divinity through systems which are less than divine. Corruption isn’t hidden. Instead, it is ritualized. Virtue is not upheld, but is weaponized. The book is plainly a satire, and like all good satires, it leaves the reader feeling amused but uneasy.
Advancing the plot is the introduction of Citizen Karma, a mobile app that claims to “empower belief” while quietly running the Karmic Rebirth Algorithm beneath the surface. That idea alone reframes the entire political landscape of the book. Elections, public opinion, even the concept of choice itself become variables in a system that can be adjusted and ultimately controlled. The truth here isn’t cosmic or unknowable. It’s optimized. It makes us think of the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2016, which (for those of you who have been around as long as this website will recall) contributed to Brexit. It is uncomfortably plausible.
Black Ties has little interest it has in building mythology. The gods exist, and their domains are established. It treats mythology as infrastructure, tweaked for a theme. We have seen that often enough in comics – why would a Nordic god speak in Quaker English and join an American team of superheroes? This story goes further than The Mighty Thor: it’s about what happens when belief becomes just another tool in the machinery of power. (It reminds us of a review, also from 2016, we did of The Demon: see https://worldcomicbookreview.com/2016/02/08/satire-predicts-politics-allusions-to-donald-trumps-presidential-campaign-in-dc-comics-the-demon-26-29-1992/ – but with a more contemporary setting).
Lucia Faccini’s artwork feels inseparable from the writing. The style leans heavily into stylization, pulling from cartooning, pop-art, and manga influences. Ms Faccini refines them into something clean and deliberate. There’s a confidence in the linework and a restraint in the rendering that keeps the pages from ever feeling cluttered. Instead of chasing realism, the art relies on strong shapes, careful composition, and negative space. The pacing isn’t just dictated by the script, but instead it’s embedded in the layout.
That interplay between structure and storytelling is where the book really comes together. Mr Klein is writing about systems, about control, about the way power organizes itself, and Ms Faccini mirrors that with visuals that are just as controlled and deliberate. The result is a graphic novel that feels cohesive at every level. Nothing is wasted. Every element, from the dialogue to the panel transitions, is working toward the same goal.
There’s a sharpness to Black Ties that lingers. The satire never feels unfocused or indulgent. It knows exactly what it’s aiming at, and it doesn’t miss. By grounding its ideas in recognizable structures and pushing them just far enough for satire rather than absurdism, the book manages to feel both heightened and uncomfortably real at the same time. Mr Klein and Ms Faccini make it look effortless.
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