“Dark Ages” #1 is phenomenal. I loved it, from the wordy start, to its juicy, action-packed center, all the way to its awe-inspiring finale.Don’t keep yourself in the dark ages, buy this book and let it light up your life. Now I’ve gotta write about 350 more words to complete this review, but they’re all about how superb and what an extraordinary treat this book is.
WRITTEN BY: Dan Abnett
ART BY: I.N.J Culbard
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: August 13, 2014
Reviewed By: Torbin Chimners
Dan Abnett, who you should all know of now in a post “Guardians of The Galaxy” world, writes “Dark Ages.” He’s one half of the writing team that brought us the Guardians we know today. Abnett is joined by I. N. J. Culbard who rocks the powerhouse of artist, letterer and cover artist, the two have collaborated in the past on “The New Deadwardians.”
The book picks up near the tail end of the Dark Ages. We follow a group of mercenaries led by the morally questionable Hawkherst. His inner thoughts narrate the opening pages, telling us of his thoughts on God and War. His perspective on the world around him is incredibly engrossing. The manner in which he speaks of war is very cavalier; he sees it as a means to support himself and his men.
War is when his kind prosper, kings and princes always want to wage war and he’s more than happy to take their coin. Him and his men think of God in an interesting and refreshing way. They don’t want to owe him anything, believing that praying for a miracle of God would then put them in his debt.
It has all the makings of a great swords and shields medieval adventure. It could have continued down that road and still been a great time but then something happens. Something extraordinary that has me beyond jazz’d for the future of “Dark Ages.” I dare not spoil it here but just know that this is a fundamentally different book at the end than it is at the start.
“Dark Ages” #1 wasn’t even on my radar when it was plopped on my lap to review. I would have probably passed it by in the comic store and never given it a second thought. That is not what the book deserves. It demands to be read and I’ll be damned if I’m not going to push it on everyone I know.
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Torbin Chimners AKA Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter@Vulgar_Rhombus