Comics
Review: ‘Amala’s Blade’ #3
Civil war is on the brink of being reignited in “Amala’s Blade” #3, and our teenaged assassin is at the centre of it all. With only one more issue left in Steve Horton and Michael Dialynas’ Dark Horse mini, writer and artist continue to approach the narrative with an accelerated pace, and set the stage for what’s expected to be an epic finale to this well-written, and beautifully illustrated, steampunk fantasy series.
WRITTEN BY: Steve Horton
ART BY: Michael Dialynas
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: June 26, 2013
Keeping up with the speed of the previous installments, Part 3 continues with Amala’s successful infiltration of Lady Strawbale’s Purifier Palace as she attempts to complete the suicide mission The Vizier vindictively assigned to her. Disastrously, a huge character reveal confirms reader speculation regarding the true identity of Amala’s target. This complicates matters for the hero and sets forth a series of events that’ll keep readers hooked until the very last page.
In contrast to the ample amount of bloodshed leading up to this issue, Horton focusses on building Amala’s story and establishing just how significant her role is in forging a better future for all of Naamaron. Readers are offered more insight into Naamaron’s bureaucracy through Horton’s world-building, as well as Amala’s psyche and disposition towards her role as ‘assassin’.
Besides all the drama bread from recent character and plot developments, “Amala’s Blade” #3 has some comedic aspects to help alleviate the tension. One panel in particular depicts two high-tech Modifier guards debating over the modification of male genitals. This offers a welcomed treat before the action picks up again. Biopunk themes of genetic engineering and bodily enhancements are pretty visible throughout this installment, but the most impressive panels feature the same mechanical wyrm that graces this month’s fantastic cover, and Dialynas does a superb job rendering its body. The scenes where Amala’s facing off with the cybernetic beast makes it hard not to be reminded of Kurtis J. Wiebe and Riley Rossmo’s junk-punk series “Debris” in terms of art, in which Rossmo illustrates the female protagonist battling against machine-like animals. It’s a worthy comparison.
On the topic of art, Dialynas delivers his best work thus far with the release of this month’s issue, and continues to establish himself as a stylistically distinguishable artist. His colour palette of purple and blues when dealing with the Modifier people, and his incorporation of traditional steampunk browns when illustrating the low-tech Purifiers, is perfectly executed on paper. The fact that he successfully manages to portray how vastly different the two warring factions are, is commendable.
As far as lead characters go, there’s still so much to learn about Amala than is provided in these pages, but Horton does an impressive job creating a likeable character that possesses such questionably unlikeable traits. Here’s hoping both writer and artist have more Amala goodies up their sleeve because one more issue doesn’t seem like enough.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – ShadowJayd
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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