JRR Tolkien was not always the old Oxford professor, pipe in the mouth, refining his extraordinary work.

In 1915, at age 23, he left for the front with his high school friends, whom he loved like brothers. They take part in the Battle of the Somme which will kill 450,000 people.

The horror of war will brand his relationship to friendship, love and creation.

This graphic novel explores the youth of the author of The Lord of the Rings, and his traumatic experience of the battlefields of the First World War, which will forge the imagination of his literary work.

For fans of The Hobbit & Lord of The Rings looking to learn more about the genius behind their favorite epics