Review: Reyn, Volume 1: Warden of Fate

Reyn, Volume 1: Warden of Fate
Writer: Kel Symons
Artist: Nathan Stockman

Image Comics
Street: 06.30

After a thousand years of darkness, monstrous creatures long forgotten rise up from the rubble and civilization depends on the last of the lost tribe of Wardens, Reyn. Though reluctant to fulfill his destiny, he’s on a grand quest to find out secrets of the Fate. Symons and Stockman flip the “damsel in distress” trope when he meets the most badass character in the book, Seph, a powerful healer and witch who surely should be the main character. While I enjoy books like Birthright, many medieval fantasy–type comics haven’t interested me, so Reyn was a nice surprise. While there are swift fighting scenes and gratuitous stabbing of creatures, it’s not ultraviolent, which makes it an appealing fantasy that unfolds like a night of Dungeons & Dragons for all players. It’s clear that the plot is building to a point of epic, obviously influenced by a bit of Beowulf, King Arthur, Joan of Arc, and The Lord of The Rings. The series takes a seriously sharp and unexpected lovecraftian technological turn for the awesome after the first two issues. It’s nostalgic for days of yore and blends magik and technology playfully. Recommended to strange fantasy lovers. ––  Taylor Hoffman