Comics
[Comic Book Review] Reading “Birthright” #1 Is Your Destiny
“Birthright” is a story of destiny. About who a child becomes after his life altering journey has occurred, and a loving tribute to eighties classics like The Goonies, The Neverending Story, and The Dark Crystal. It beautifully captures the tone of the eighties and crafts an incredible entry in a genre that’s been dormant for a long time.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Andrei Bressan
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: October 8, 2014
I suppose I wasn’t the only kid who spent his youth bombing around in the forest looking for treasure, goblins, and adventure. But, Joshua Williamson made his fiction into a beautiful reality with “Birthright.” He takes the elements of 80’s adventure fuel and injects the idea with a brand new sense of life.
The premise is simple. Mikey is out playing catch with his father on the edge of a forest, when suddenly his disappears. Mikey’s disappearance causes his family to fall apart. His absence has created a void that can’t be filled, until a roided out “Lord of the Rings reject” shows up at the local police station. It’s Mikey and he’s become a fantasy warlord.
What follows is an interrogation scene that proves Mikey is indeed who he says he is despite having aged significantly. He’s gained an incredible mass of muscle and he appears to be an all around badass. Sadly, the interrogation scene was one of the only things that didn’t work for me. It felt like an easy way out for exposition, but saves itself within the final two pages.
Andrei Bressan has brought the world of “Birthright” to live with incredible splendor. I was consistently blown away by his page layouts, as he would often have a dominant panel take up three quarters of the page to communicate something imperative, but the scope of his work is unrivaled. He has so much confidence in his display of the fantasy world of Terrenos that it’s staggering. Seriously, just wait until you see his two page spread when Mikey is introduced to the world, your jaw will drop.
“Birthright” feels like the story Joshua Williamson was destined to tell. It’s a confident 80’s tribute dripping with it’s own personal style, it revives the adventure genre in a beautiful way and comes to define the idealized child hero in a risky but captivating new way.
This is something every 80’s child has dreamed of, but spins it in the most interesting way possible. “Birthright” will make you think about destiny in a whole new way, and show you a fully realized world that rivals the imagination of Jim Henson. With an adventure reminiscent of Labyrinth, and the heart of Stand By Me, Williamson and Bressan will have you captivated from page one.
Buy this comic!
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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