I’m back this week with another interesting series. Birdking is an epic dark fantasy comic series published by Dark Horse.  The story is written by Daniel Freedman and illustrated by Crom. The series is currently ongoing and is planned to be a total of four acts each of which contains around seven chapters. Rather than single issues the story is only published in trade paperback format making it easy to pick up and read.

The story of Birdking takes place in The Kingdoms of the North. The region is ruled over by the sinister sovereign Aghul, who seized power after the nation known as Atlas invaded from the South. In order to fight against their enemies the people of the north created six wraiths who wielded magical weapons of power before uniting under Aghul’s banner. In the midst of this eternal war, a young apprentice smith named Bianca finds herself caught up in the conflict after undertaking a mission with her master to re-forge the Anduren Greatsword of Flame.

There’s certainly a lot at play here within this story. This first volume in particular does suffer from exposition dumps. I love hearing about background lore, especially if the world is interesting enough so this wasn’t a big issue. However, I acknowledge that much of the information could have been integrated more smoothly throughout the story. That being said it certainly isn’t the worst execution either. Freedman paints a clear picture of his world by around chapter 2 thanks in huge part to Crom’s wonderful artwork which renders distinctive environments and characters. I loved experiencing each new locale and seeing the creative denizens who inhabit it.

This story stands out to me amongst other dark fantasy works because of its protagonist Bianca. In a region filled with death and despair, Bianca is a beacon of hope. Her positivity in the face of a harsh world gives you an immediate attachment to her while providing a great foil to the somberness of her old mentor, Thonir, and her silent companion the Birdking. It’s these elements of a carefully crafted world with elements of mystery and charming characters that keep you invested in the rather generic quest narrative which takes up the majority of the first arc.

I cannot stress how much I love Crom’s artwork. It’s incredibly distinctive and simple but bursts with color and little details that convey character personalities at a glance. It honestly reminds me of classic heavy metal album artwork with how it toes the line between beauty and horror. Action scenes are also wonderfully dynamic. Both Freedman and Crom stated in an interview with brokenfrontier.com that Manga and European comics as a whole were a big influence on the format and execution of Birdking and it certainly shows here. Motion and impact are emphasized heavily with large sound effects reminiscent of Manga panels. Meanwhile, the story is clearly plotted out and self-contained. This is certainly a breath of fresh air when compared to the huge, crossover-laden universes favored by Marvel, DC, and even Image with series like Invincible, Radiant Black, and The Walking Dead.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Birdking continues to evolve in the next volume. The revenant Birdking himself is still shrouded in a fair bit of mystery and I’m anxious to see what the journey to the southern land of Atlas will uncover. If you enjoy epic fantasy this is certainly a series I cannot recommend enough. As fantasy series go this isn’t reinventing the genre in terms of the conventions it leans on but what is here is executed well and that’s worth celebrating for me.

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Birdking Vol. 1

19.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Wonderful art
• Awesome worldbuilding
• Overall quality execution

Cons

• Can be exposition heavy
• Quest narrative is nothing new