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Posted in: Comics, Image, Review | Tagged: eric jones, fantasy, historical fiction, image comics, justin greenwood, Landry Q Walker, Medieval, the last siege
The Last Siege #1 Advance Review: Well-Told but Conventional Medieval-Inspired Fiction
A mysterious wanderer arrives in a castle village currently coping with a power vacuum. The only survivor of the lord's family is an underaged girl, and the advisors are trying to determine what to do. Another lord has offered to marry off the girl, but the advisors are split on if it should be allowed. In the tavern, that mysterious wanderer is attacked by the lord's men.
The Last Siege #1 is a Medieval-inspired story that so far seems to be aiming for historical realism, at least in terms of the politics.
While that may earn it some points for being distinct, this first issue is quite conventional in much of its story. A mysterious wanderer going to a tavern and pissing off the local elites through the simple act of existing is a very common trope in almost every action-oriented genre across all mediums.
Despite being conventional, the story is well told. The pacing is solid, it spreads out its text and dialogue well, and the advisor characters are interesting.
The opening pages are textless and attempt to establish atmosphere while showing the wanderer approaching the village, but it could have been arguably truncated. This is a noticeable problem, but it isn't fatal.
Justin Greenwood's artwork is well textured, plays with shadowing well, and is generally quite atmospheric. The comic aims for a dark aesthetic to correspond with the grounded and gritty narrative, and Greenwood accomplishes this while providing a unique style. Eric Jones's color work is dim and adds to the grim tone for which the comic aims, and it's generally solid.
The Last Siege #1 is a conventional yet well-told first installment for the series. Its ideas aren't fresh, but the pacing and tone are handled well. Greenwood and Jones provide solid artwork too, which helps. I wouldn't call the comic a must-buy, but I can recommend it to Medieval fiction fans. If it sounds like it's your kind of thing, then feel free to check it out on June 13th.
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