Review: Birthright #39

What is the nature of evil?Â Is the path to hell paved with good intentions?Â Is it true that no act out of love can result in evil? Birthright #39 is a book that dances around some of those issues while presenting an interesting and enthralling fantasy tale about the clash of two worlds.

I have to admit that I’m new to Birthright as a comic series.Â However, I was able to pick up on the general theme of the series very quickly and I was impressed with the many layers of this story.Â Certainly I’ve missed out on many subplots and interpersonal relationships in the 38 issues preceding this one.Â At it’s heart though this story, and this issue in particular, are about the clash of two worlds, the resultant evil it spawns and how people react to that evil which is war.

Mastema is the daughter ofÂ Lore, the god king of Terrenos.Â There, magic is common and sometime in the past Earth and Terrenos were exposed to each other and have been at war ever since.Â Mastema, dismayed by the evils of war and the destruction it brings is determined to create another world, a better world, a peaceful world, a world ruled by her.Â But here’s the rub, in order for this world to come about she must see that Earth and Terrenos are destroyed and all those living on those two worlds are destroyed.Â Â Mastema is utterly convinced that this is the only way forward, that she must take these actions in order to bring about a better future.Â This makes her a compelling character.Â The question you have to answer for yourself is she the hero or the villain?Â Is she right or wrong?Â This dichotomy of nature is something you’ll have to answer for yourself but the writing is top notch, giving the reader a complex situation with no easy answers.Â It’s a theme and a series of questions that all people encounter and ask themselves about over the course of their lives.Â Why do bad things happen?Â Can we stop them by doing evil ourselves?Â Should we?Â If we don’t take those actions, can we live with the consequences if we don’t?Â All of that and more is here in this issue of Birthright, brilliantly presented by Joshua Williamson and his art team.

Speaking of that art team, Andrei Bressen’s art and the color work by Adriano Lucas is ephemeral in its concept and simplistic but effective in its execution.Â Their is nothing novel here in the art itself, the presentation and line work are neither bold nor particularly dynamic.Â However, something about the way it is presented brings a dreamy, hazy feel to the whole book that fits with the themes and story being presented.Â Similarly, the color work can visually striking and boldly vivid, but not consistently.Â However, it works in tandem with this ephemeral gauze through which we are viewing this story unfold and gives the viewer this feeling like they are watching monumental events unfold from behind a drug induced haze which paralyzes and enthralls them at the same time.Â It is a strange experience but one that is very effective for this book.

So, where does that leave us?Â I enjoyed this book and particularly enjoyed the themes I picked up on in the story.Â The artwork didn’t wow me but it did it’s job well, allowing me to enjoy the story and giving me professional visuals to drive the story forward in my mind.Â You can’t ask for much more than that.Â This is a good book and it has endeared the series to me.Â I did some research and found out that the series is planned to wrap up in issue #50 so I recommend this book to all of you in either single issue floppy or the inevitable trade to come.

Writing – 4.5 of 5 Stars
Art – 3.5 of 5 Stars
Inking – 2.5 of 5 Stars
Color – 3.5 of 5 Stars

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Writing – Joshua Williamson
Art – Andrei Bressan
Color – Adriano Lucas
Letters – Pat Brosseau

Author Profile

Nemesis

Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.