Martin is a templar knight, but he never made it to Jerusalem. Instead, he’s been recalled to France, along with his fellow knights, where the pope has caved to political pressure from the king and set events in motion that would end the order. The knights have all been arrested on charges of heresy, and it’s only a matter of time before Martin himself is executed, along with the rest of the order.

Instead, he manages to escape, and he sets out on the run with a few other knights who have managed to remain hidden from the clutches of the king. With the assistance of a former flame of Martin’s, they resolve to keep the king from gaining the famous treasure of the Knights Templar – by stealing it themselves.

Mechner has used the history of the end of the order to set up a seriously fun (and surprisingly moving) story. Due to the length of the book, he’s got time to create interesting, fully-formed characters and a fairly complex plot. I like that the search for the treasure is grounded in the actual history of the Templars and takes place in their historical period, rather than focusing on a modern group of historian-thieves. There’s good camaraderie as well as bickering between the rogue knights, who are refreshingly not portrayed as lily white defenders of the faith.

I feel like Templar is a book created just for me. It’s a historical fiction full-color heist story (so many things I love all in one package!) that’s actually novel-length and takes more than a single afternoon to read. It’s beautiful (with just the kind of art I love), it’s moving, it’s exciting, it’s funny; it’s just overall so well done, and all the time that went into its creation (as Mechner describes in his foreword) is very apparent. And it’s not a complete testosterone party – Martin’s ex figures prominently and is important to the story, without seeming to be shoehorned in.

It’s also a self-contained story, which may entice readers who are wary or weary of the multi-volume stories so prevalent in the graphic format. The ending is a punch to the gut, both unexpected and realistic. It adds a bit more gravitas to what could be seen as a very silly story – and reminds the reader that Martin’s situation was dangerous and bloody.

This should have great appeal to teens who love high-action comics. There’s a little nudity, but it’s blurry, drawn with steam clouds from a hot springs bath covering most of it. Highly recommended.

Finished copy received from the publisher. Templar will be published July 9.