Superb sword and sorcery comic. The creature that Victor Von Frankenstein brought to life, very much the creature from Mary Shelly’s book, came to the Artic to die. Instead, he sees a woman running from a werewolf and follows without thinking and finds himself in a new world and involved in a vicious battle for his life and others.
Any first issue has a lot of heavy lifting to do, it must establish the story premise, introduce the cast and location, and create enough story for the reader to become involved and wanting to know more.
Clay Adams has nicely raised the stakes by referencing an iconic sword and sorcery comic and using one of the most famous monsters in literature as a hero. Just as well there are no rules for talent as he succeeds brilliantly. The issue sets up the story, integrates the creature in a very natural way and launches on a full-blooded sword and sorcery story with infectious confidence. The lettering is natural and unobtrusive, it flows with the art and allows the reader to dive into the story.
Kyle Roberts has the same confidence in his art. Subtlety is a vastly underestimated aspect to sword and sorcery comic art, the stories are loud and violent, the emotions are delivered at full pelt. Gods, magicians, monsters, women in peril and sword wielding heroes are about surface drama. The best artists in the genre knew that both the detail of the context and the expressiveness of the cast were the key to success. Kyle Roberts’ art delivers both, the context is given weight and detail, the cast human and otherwise, are expressive and determined. When the characters engage with each other they are not just slamming into each other, they are strongly expressing themselves.
Ilaria Chiocca uses colour to bind the story and the art into a coherent whole by bringing the details to life and providing an emotional tone for the story. The centerfold slash page is a joy, the colour gives it the weight the moment deserves.
Sword and sorcery is wonderfully easy to get wrong, it is a surprisingly delicate balance to achieve. Blazing Sword of Frankenstein gets the balance spot on.
