The Bequest #1, by Bloodshot writer Tim Seeley, caught my eye in the comic shop. After flipping through the issue, and seeing the artwork by Freddie E. Williams II, I knew I had to buy it. I'm glad to say that when I got it home, the comic didn't disappoint me.
The story introduces us to a band of adventurers in the realm of Tangea. They may be antiheroes, but you can sense the streak of good in them. Although they come from mixed ethnic and racial communities, they might not be welcomed with open arms by any of them.
The backgrounds and characters look real and three-dimensional. Occasionally, the way artist Freddy E. Williams II plays with perspective threw me. But overall, his art really appeals. Rest assured, all the adventurers in The Bequest are (relatively) the same size, and worth getting to know.
In addition to our fantasy heroes (or antiheroes), this issue features two dragons. One is shown on the cover, and promises to play a prominent role as the series continues. This less colorful guy, an Elder Serpent, is named Veristine Kole. The way letterer Marshall Dillon colors the Elder Serpent's words red in a black dialogue balloon suggests that the dragon may not be wholly good, let alone overjoyed by his visitors' arrival.
When Veristine Kole attacks them, the adventurers receive aid from an unexpected source.
In addition to soldiers from another realm, you may also notice two characters inked in silhouette. It is they who summoned the soldiers here. As the story unfolds, you will learn that the summoners pose a danger not just to our characters and their realm of Tangea, but to our realm as well.
Much to the displeasure of our antiheroes' leader, Warlock Garthodd, one of their party panics. Before the real world soldiers can save them from the dragon, Jerril Fain, a half-elf, summons the aid of the Chamber. This group of godlike beings, colored so beautifully by Jeremy Colwell, rescue them from immediate peril.
Standing in judgment over them, the members of the Chamber decide to conscript them into service.
Thus our antiheroes, including sultry night elf Creedux, and a wood sprite named Billi, are transported to the realm called Earth. There, in the city of Chicago, they must pay penance for their crimes in their own world by policing the portals between our world and theirs.
Sound easy? There's one catch: the longer they stay in our realm, the more the magical powers they command will slip away.
At $4.99, The Bequest #1 runs a little more than your standard comic. But it contains twenty-four pages of story on hard, glossy cardstock. For you fantasy gamers out there, Tim Seeley has thoughtfully included five Character Sheets on our new friends. So while you read the series, you can also factor his heroes into your games.
I don't know much about publisher Aftershock, but I enjoyed The Bequest #1. With issue #2 coming out today, this would be a good time to check out the series, and decide if you'd like to get onboard. Personally, I'm very intrigued by this fantasy adventure.
The Bequest reminds me of my own Dungeons & Dragons days, as well as the way author Brian Daley juxtaposed real-life soldiers into a fantasy world in his early novels The Doomfarers of Coramonde and The Starfollowers of Coramonde. It also reminds me a little of Roger Zelazny's Amber novels, and how the late science fiction author also enjoyed role-playing games.
Well done, Tim Seeley, Freddie E. Williams II, Jeremy Colwell, and Marshall Dillion. You've crafted a very strong debut!
Dragon Dave
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