Last week I began my foray into the Head Lopper series by Andrew MacLean. Since then, I’ve acquired the rest of the series and will be working through each of the remaining collected additions in the coming weeks. This week I’ll be covering the “Crimson Tower” story arc which takes place within issues five through eight.

After leaving the island realm of Barra, Norgal the Head Lopper allies himself with Zhaania Kota Ka. Zhaania is a tribal warrior undertaking a quest to find her mother and sisters who disappeared after journeying to the legendary Crimson Tower. The Tower Master issues challenges to warriors from across the world to conquer what lies inside to win glory and prestige. Now it’s up to our heroes to answer his call, each searching for their purpose within the maze of traps, and facing powerful new threats.

I enjoyed how MacLean developed Norgal throughout this storyline. In the first tale, he felt rather flat at certain points. Here his personality comes through as more nuanced. We learn more about Norgal’s philosophy behind being a warrior which ties into a central theme of this narrative. Additionally, MacLean shows off Norgal’s loyalty to his companions which gives him some stronger emotional ties to the core plot. Norgal also faces strong consequences that I hope will carry over to the next story.

The somewhat awkward dialogue was one of my biggest issues with the first storyline. However, I found MacLean improved this element in Volume 2. He was able to strike a more natural balance between modern and classical medieval influences.

The core elements which captured my interest in the first storyline are also preserved here. There is a new race of creatures called the Fonga, who provide many moments of comedy and interesting subplots. Action retains its epic scale and bloody details, with exciting foes at every step. This volume, in particular, contains some wonderfully cinematic frames that display MacLean’s style at its best. I also found the artwork to be a little bit cleaner this time around which allowed for scenes to flow more naturally.

Additionally, the Crimson Tower itself is an engaging setting. Though on a smaller scale than Barra, it allows the story to have more logical progression and better overall pacing. While I’d still count pacing as one of the weaker aspects the few changes that are made allow for a marked improvement upon the story crafted in volume one.

Although I enjoyed the main antagonist, Ulrich the Twice Damned he certainly isn’t as compelling as the Sorcerer of the Black Bog and Servin Lulach from the first story. Ulrich lacks distinct motivations and is used simply as a device to move the story forward. This won’t be a problem for some readers but I always enjoy a well-thought-out villain who feels unique rather than an extension of ideas explored in previous chapters.

The world and characters here still have many potential aspects to explore. Specifically, I’m curious about the background of Agatha Blue Witch. Why is Norgal so attached to her despite his grumbling? What was the scenario that began their unlikely partnership? These are only a few of the directions that I predict the story may take in the future.

Head Lopper is quickly becoming a personal favorite of mine within the comic space. It’s simple but with an all-around solid execution that makes for fast and approachable adventures. Both this story and the first volume can be read as stand-alone pieces or as part of a larger story as MacLean crafts clear continuity without overbearing readers. This is another solid entry to the story that improves upon the elements lacking in the initial debut. I’m hoping the series can only get better from here.

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Head Lopper and The Crimson Tower

17.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Norgal's character development
• The Fonga
• Improved dialogue
• Fun action and monsters

Cons

• Weaker villain