Dynamite Entertainment 2017
Written by F. Wesley Schneider
Illustrated by Ediano Silva
Coloured by Omi Remalante
Lettered by Tom Napolitano
In the magical city of Korvosa, a killer is hunting Varisian sorcerers and slicing away their
magical tattoos. Yet when Seoni and her band of adventurers is called home to deal with the threat, she quickly learns that the problem runs far deeper than an ordinary serial killer. With the fate of her entire homeland at stake, Seoni and her friends will need to take on devil-binding Hellknights, bizarre monsters, and an ancient legacy written into her very skin…
I will say that these stories continue to impress and delight me. I’m still a Pathfinder RPG virgin, i’ve never played, and yet this has made me want to since Dynamite has been putting out the stories. Thankfully when reading this it always feels like we’re getting a game that has been played and is now being brought to life for us in this medium. It has this way of drawing you into the story and keeping you invested in what’s happening.
So F. Wesley starts this off by jumping in without a net and it’s fabulous! Hellknights are the first thing the gang sees and suddenly we’re in the midst of a story and no idea what the heck is going on. It’s a great way to start things off as they walk into a place thinking things are normal only to find out they are dead wrong. The whole story structure here is fantastic as we are introduced to the city and slowly unravel the different factions.
Speaking of factions the King is dead, Long Live the Queen! With this kind of transition that means the kingdom is very much in disarray, chaos or under complete anarchy as people are vying for control. This is my take on what I see here nothing set in stone mind you. I see the Queen’s guard, the local lawmen and these Hellknights all working at odds with one another while a killer is on the loose stealing tattoo’s that represent power to a race of magic users.
Oh my stars and garters I’m absolutely enchanted by the interiors here. Ediano and Omi make a superb team. The attention to detail in the work and the way the colours pop in that detail are absolutely stunning. The tattoo’s on Seoni for instance are eye catching. The way page layouts are utilised through angles and perspective are wonderfully done. I do wish we got more backgrounds instead of that colour background because it really does wonders in fleshing out any scene. With the backgrounds that we see it definitely enhances those panels.
This is as good as any team book on the market and better than most from big two these days. This is the epitome of what a group of friends with different skill sets can do together that they cannot do alone. With a great premise, superb plot development and crazy reveals this is an exciting romp of a good time!