I’ve seen a lot of post apocalyptic tales over the years. I thought I’d seen it all, aliens, vampires, plagues, wars, even werewolves and more zombie apocalypses than you can shake a stick at. But I never once considered that I would one day be exposed to a Dungeons and Dragons Apocalypse, and after reading this I can”t help but wonder why because this works.
Maintaining the sort of gravitas that we’ve come to expect from The Walking Dead, The Realm treats this seemingly absurd premise with absolute seriousness. I’m jumping into the middle of this story with absolutely NO prior knowledge of The Realm and once again I find myself amazed that Image comics, which used to be a powerhouse of superhero glitz and glam has become the sort of publisher that Dark Horse and IDW used to be. Since becoming a Comic Crusader I have been delighted again and again by the books from Image I’ve had the pleasure to read, thought-provoking and intelligent works that deserve a much wider exposure and The Realm is no exception.
The issue offers no back story you just have to jump into the deep end and sink or swim. Normally I’m not fond of that, I prefer a bit of a primer of some sort and this sort of lack can indeed put off new readers to a book that is already a year into its story. And yet, I find myself being able to jump in with no real loss with this issue. I’m introduced to a number of characters and while you won’t find a great deal of depth with this issue you get enough of the world and the characters to get you footing and continue on. The characters and situations feel real in this fantastical setting because it’s so grounded in the real as well. You’ll find a lot of the familiar post apocalypse tropes here, battles for survival against man and beast, epic journeys, struggles for community, battles for resources, characters who range from very humane to extremely mercenary. Best of all there is a lot of gray area here, even the supposed villains are shown to be well thought out and multidimensional even in the brief encounters I was exposed to with this comic.
ART
The art is solid as a rock with line work that makes me think of books like The Walking Dead or artists like Timothy Truman, its good gritty stuff. Its rough and raw on purpose and the water-color inspired colors add an extra layer of dinginess like the dirt coating a well-traveled adventurer. There is no spit and polish super heroics here, this is about as real as fantasy can get!
The story telling is superb and the visuals are like stills from The Walking Dead tv series as they are both realistic and cinematic at the same time. Layouts and flow naturally lead the eye exactly where it should go and the “acting”“ is vry well done. The art just adds to the believability of the story being told in what should have been an absurd premise.
FINAL THOUGHTS
What a pleasant surprise this comic is, it’s a well told story from top to bottom. This is a strong recommend from me, go check it out. 5 out of 5!
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
THE REALM #12
Creators: Jeremy Haun and Seth M. Peck
Art: Jeremy Haun
Colors: Nick Filardi
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