I’ll admit that I was happy to see this book return this week and for the most part it really was one of the most entertaining series I read. There’s only one problem with this series and it’s the formula for every issue, but that’s also why I enjoy. In that way it’s a double-edged sword. What I enjoy is also what I dislike because I can see the formula working throughout the issue while I read it, but it still works on me. Again it’s one of the most entertaining stories I read this week and that’s saying something when you look at the release schedule. Don’t expect any books for Christmas because they’re all coming out now or next week. The issue jumps ahead some from the last issue as we find Fayden on a ship already with a crew heading to an island for one of the artifacts he’s looking for. The story begins in humorous fashion as Fayden is sea-sick and annoying the men that are working to keep the boat sailing with his moaning and puking. They reach the island, but park the boat far away and let Fayden know they’re rowing the rest of the way… which will be rougher on his stomach. They make it to the island and from the visuals we can see that someone is already watching them. Fayden heads into a cave solo to find his artifact and his narration tells us that the crew of the ship is different from the usual class of people he deals with.
Inside he finds the floor covered in skeletons making it impossible to proceed without walking literally upon their corpses. There are also stone statues of men that are the obvious result of a Gorgon. Fayden runs into her and an old woman shooting blue fireballs before narrowly escaping the cave. Too bad he’s not really in the clear.
This story is very entertaining and Fayden is a great character. He’s really the only character the reader ever gets to know since he could jump worlds at any time and leave everyone behind. That may happen in the next issue, but due to the structure I have no idea. This series has a tendency to jump ahead in the story from issue to issue due to the cliffhanger at the end of each issue. It works, but again it plays into that double-edge sword I was talking about before. Overall though it’s a formula that works and while you may not forget about it completely at least you can still enjoy the story.
The artwork on this series is some of the best from IDW. I believe I mentioned something similar on my first review of this series, but there are some IDW books that I tend to avoid due to the art. This series on the other hand is the bar in which the entire company should follow because it’s fantastic. Every page is photorealistic and considering it’s a fantasy world, that’s saying a lot. The Gorgon design will be familiar and while it’s not going to make you love or hate character, you won’t be put off by her scenes either. The attention to deal is what makes the art shine and the series so entertaining.
Really if you dig fantasy stories you should check this one out. This series has been running for a while now and has even wrapped a major story line, but it’s still going and still entertaining. I don’t know anything about Magic The Gathering in case you thought you needed that knowledge to enjoy this story. It’s just great fantasy writing and art and a damn good comic book.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Jason Ciaramella Artist: Martin Coccolo Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/11/13