Click here to read the first issue of Rex Mundi

Don't mention The Da Vinci Code to Arvid Nelson. As gracious as the comic book writer is about Dan Brown's multi-million-selling religious thriller, it has caused him a lot of headaches. Nelson is the creator of Rex Mundi, a fantasy noir comic that delves into similar territory as Brown's book: the search for the Holy Grail, mysterious killers in white, secret religious societies, the occult, riddles and codes embedded in famous paintings and books. "God bless Dan Brown, I'm glad he's had all the success he's had," says Nelson, who published the first issue of Rex Mundi several years before Brown's book came to light. "But at the same time I think it's one of those cases of mass hysteria. This is maybe an impolite way of saying it but The Da Vinci Code was the right thing at the right time. It was sort of a vindication for me because I had been struggling with Rex Mundi for so long. I knew that it was a good idea and The Da Vinci Code in a way proved that, even though it made things more difficult for me."

What separates Rex Mundi and the Da Vinci Code is the alternative world that it inhabits. "Paris, 1933: the Protestant Reformation failed, the Catholic Church has all the power of a secret police force, Europe is in the grip of feudalism and sorcerers stalk the street at night," is the enticing blurb at the start of each issue. The plot centres on Julien Saunière, a physician who stumbles onto a sinister conspiracy after a priest friend calls on him to investigate the theft of a medieval scroll which, the comic grandly warns, “holds the key to an ancient riddle that threatens to drown the world in blood”. All the staples of the pulp detective story are there - the femme fatale, a corrupt police force, a sinister villain with a masterplan and a hero out of his depth - all played out against a background of a continent on the brink of a war and threatened by fascism.

"Religion has always fascinated me as has early medieval history," says Nelson. "I also love American detective fiction. That's what Rex Mundi is essentially - a detective story, but instead of being set in Los Angeles, it's set in Paris. Instead of gangsters, you have sorcerers and cults and instead of the feds and g-men you have the holy inquisition.

"I love French movies from the 1930s. My favourite actor from the period is Jean Gabin. Saunière has a lot of Gabin in him - he's a tortured, sad hero. There's also a bit of Philip Marlowe in there and Humphrey Bogart." Even the name Rex Mundi (which is Latin for "king of the world" and a clue to the mystery at the heart of the book) sounds like the handle of a hard-boiled, booze-soaked private eye. "People also assume Rex Mundi is the name of a super hero. I get asked, 'So what does Rex Mundi do? What are his powers?' all the time. It wasn't intentional, but I love it."

There's a bit of Indiana Jones in Rex Mundi as well (he even makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in one the more recent issues, a nod current Rex Mundi artist Juan Ferreyra makes to the archaeologist's own Grail adventure, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). "The second half of the story is less of a detective story and becomes more of a Indiana Jones, Doc Savage kind of adventure. I wanted to make that shift about half way through the series. As you get further away from Paris and more into the countryside, you enter more into the world of myth, legend and magic. The first half of the book is a fairly intense detective story and the second half is supposed to be about action and magic and sorcery. The first half is a promise and hopefully the second half fulfills that promise."

Part of the appeal of Rex Mundi and Grail conspiracies is the feeling that there is secret society pulling strings behind the scenes, that there is a set of answers to life's mysteries that we could access if only we knew the code or the right handshake. "I think Evelyn Waugh called it the low door in the wall to the enchanted garden. I love that idea, that if you just knew the right door to open, a whole other world would open up to you. It's a world that exists alongside the mundane boring world but it's a world of magic and adventure and fun. I think that's such a terrific idea and one of the appeals of the fascistic books. I think any conspiracy theory is about that, that maybe the world isn't as boring and stuffy as the history textbooks say it is. Maybe there is some great big secret out there. I personally don't believe in conspiracy theories but the idea of them is so romantic and fantastic and makes for great fiction."

Which brings us to one of the problems Nelson has with The Da Vinci Code: "The Da Vinci strain of conspiracy theories are a little bit fascistic," he says, referring to the book's central idea that the Holy Grail is Jesus Christ's bloodline. "Hitler once looked for the Holy Grail in the south of France in the Thirties - he sent out an expedition. I think it's also apparent in Wagner's operas - the idea that you should rule the world by right of blood. I'm going to try and answer that whole fascist question [with Rex Mundi] and have more of a positive message."

For a writer who plays with religious themes, it comes as no surprise that Nelson is driven by his faith, but unlike many he is not shy about talking about it or the influence it has Rex Mundi. "I feel that there is a dichotomy in modern society, that you are either a godless atheist who believes in evolution or your are someone who blindly believes every word in the Bible is true. I don't think that religion is as simple as that. My Bahá'í faith has been source of inspiration and strength in my life and what I like about the Baha'i is that reason and faith don't have to be in conflict. As far as Rex Mundi goes, the final meaning of the Holy Grail is very much related to Bahá'í teachings - equality of men and women, racial equality."

The idea for Rex Mundi came to Nelson after he graduated from college in 1999 and, like many an American before him, headed to Europe. "Right after college I visited Paris to work on a documentary. It was the first time that I had ever visited Europe. I was sitting at a cafe and there was an old Norman church across the street, Saint-Germain-des-Prés. I was admiring it and the woman I was with told me it had been built in the 11th century by the Normans. That really cracked open my head. In America we have such a different sense of time - something is old if it has been around for ten years. Just the fact that that church had been standing for a thousand years was amazing. Being in Paris where Napoleon and Charlemagne actually were, made history more real for me than dates in a book. Things just started to fall into place after that.

"That same summer I worked as a production assistant on a Woody Allen movie - Small Time Crooks. After the whole thing was over it occurred to me that I could keep on being a production assistant and maybe years and years later someone might let me write and direct my own movie or I could just start writing now and do it as a comic book. Comics are similar to movies minus the exorbitant budget."

Nelson began scouting for artistic talent on a trip to the San Diego Comic Con that year. It was there that he met EricJ, Rex Mundi's co-creator and original artist. "The comic con was overwhelming. There were these unbelievably talented artists carrying big black portfolios and every time I saw one I'd stop them and talk to them. I met EricJ that way and I knew he would be perfect. Rex Mundi didn't even have a title at that point but I knew he would be perfect for it."

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