I really ended up liking this book!

The problem is, as you get into it, it’s a tad confusing. Sometimes you’re trying to figure out which character is which, or trying to figure out if you missed a panel because it seemed to skip a bit of story.

But outside of that, it’s a great story. If you can skip over a few confusing details, you can easily get the overall story. Which is pretty damn cool. And it’s a seems like a neat setup for a bigger series.

Recommended - just pay close attention to the details.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

This is basically a D & D campaign turned into a graphic novel. The characters are literally: a bard, a thief, a cleric, an assassin and a mage. Plus zombies. Lots and lots and LOTS of zombies. The art is really good and the story, though confusing at times, is entertaining. I would say it's a series I didn't mind started but I am not SUPER eager to continue it, so it's in the medium category for me.

A very entertaining adventure story with a lot of high stakes action and great artwork, that I'd be interested to read more of with future volumes. I did feel that at times the plot got a bit confusing, and I can't say that any of the characters have particularly stood out for me, but it's nonetheless a story that will be bound to please anyone who wants to be transported into a new world of adventure. Definitely one to check out for an evening's read.

Good As Far As It Goes

This is a perfectly fine sword and sorcery action adventure with a motley band of different, but standard, hero types. It has a strong Batman versus Catwoman underlying story, and a vaguely medieval setting.

This isn't as witty, complex and engaging as Naifeh's Courtney Crumrin series, or as amusing as Princess Ugg. That said, it is well paced, fairly observes all of the conventions of the form, and delivers a well balanced quest, with some snappy banter, a few very nicely composed set pieces, a suspenseful caper, and a wide ranging final battle sequence.

If that's what you want, this delivers. It's a bit brown, black and dark, but the action is reasonably easy to follow. Characters can blend together a bit, but most of the panel design is effective. Pencils and lettering are quite good.

So, because this is Naifeh I was hoping for a bit more, but on balance this certainly delivered what it promised.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

All of the text came up, but most of the pictures didn't. Hard to review for this reason.

I have high hopes when I first read the description and see the artwork on the cover. The story itself is interesting. Set in an unknown world of Umber and kingdom with magic and interesting characters. At first, things look sketchy. Only a group of people meeting in a tavern without really introducing who they were. They have a mission: go inside a dungeon to steal some treasure. The story is progressing with revealing the background of each character. Sometimes the transition between the past and present is not quite clear.

This is a graphic novel you could enjoy if you like fantasy world. It’s a complete package of fantasy world: magic, death, cult followers, knights, thieves and some peasant. I like that the basic story is about good versus bad. It’s actually quite simple. However, there are some characters that I’m lost. I’m not quite sure who they were and they only appear in one scene and then they will appear again near the end.

The graphic is quite dark, suitable with the theme of the story. It’s full of action and the depiction of the heroes and heroin is quite focus. The facial expression of each character is also quite clear and strong. Anger, sadness, hatred, scared it’s all shown in good clarity.

Recommend for those who like dark fantasy world story with strong attitude character and great graphic.

A thief, an assassin, a mage and a cleric walk into a tavern in the ancient city of Umber to embark on a quest to find riches. Each member of the group has his/her own agenda and the quest soon turns into a battle to save the city.
The story and the world it is set in is great. I liked the artwork. However, the graphic novel format might actually be a little to limited for the story told. This kind of story would make an epic novel, which also allows to develop the characters more and give a little explanation on their backgrounds. The graphic novel I found a bit confusing at times with all the names, organizations etc. thrown in without a little background to it. But hey, there's a Batman-like character in this, all mystery and awesomeness, so I'm sold anyway.