Titan Comics 2016
Written by George Mann
Illustrated by Alan Quah
Coloured by Komikaki Studio feat. Sean Lee
Lettered by Rob Steen
Narrowly escaping the madness of the Dragon Augerer’s Crystalline Labyrinth, Fira and Aldrich’s quest to link the First Flame now leads them to The Weeping Forest — the dark domain of the fearsome Everlord — where the second relic of Andolus lies in wait…
If you haven’t talked to your local comic shoppe or subscription service about the comics Titan is offering, this one for example, then you need to get on that right now. I don’t know how many of you play video games and already have an understanding of this world but if you do then you should already be loving this. For people like myself who don’t play video games what George is doing with the story and Alan with the interior artwork are reason enough to take a look.
The story so far is easy to follow and as it progresses and we get to know the characters and their mission and their place in this world he opens up this wondrous new world. So yes it’s very much structured on a Dungeons & Dragons story with a Knight whose memory is fast fading traveling with a mystic as they have to face dangers like dragons or giant spiders but that’s a major factor in enjoying what’s going on here.
The attention to detail in the Fira’s armour, including Sean’s colouring of it, to the creativity in creating the creatures they face are exquisite. The mood, tone and feel of where they are, the looks on their faces are just superbly represented. Alan’s eye for storytelling and how the flow of this story needs to be told is nearly perfect. There’s such a gorgeous subtlety to the artwork that it can be as mesmerizing as it is terrifying.
These two have a mission to complete to take this world from a place of darkness back to a place of light. There’s something behind that too that perhaps their mission is futile but there are forces at work that wish to stop them. Perhaps as of yet unseen as the lands they travel through present obstacles of their own as they try to hunt down relics that will ultimately help them.
There’s a lot of action this issue and it’s great to see. Sometimes actions speak louder than words and the way they are relying upon each other does as much for their characterization as do the words they speak to each other. I’ve so impressed with this from taking the video game and fleshing out the world and characters to the execution we get on the page. It does almost make me wish I played the game but it does make me happy that it exists so that we can get a story like this.
Titan Comics is the home to some of the hottest, newest and freshest talent in comics today. Along with knowing how to take video game franchises a new lease on life for a wider audience and transforming it completely.