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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
The Last God: Book I of the Fellspyre Chronicles by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
1 review
billyjepma's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.5
There's a lot here that I like. For one, it's refreshing (and exciting!) to find a longer-form high-fantasy project that's unashamed to be what it is. Johnson and Federici have built out a world so dense and rich that the 12+ issues of the story barely scratch the surface, and that's the best thing the series has going for it. The characters and plot may be thin and rarely go places you wouldn't expect, but the worldbuilding and setting are captivating in their dire, grim, and surprising textures.
The horror elements are grotesque, unsettling, and consistently got under my skin. I never felt much investment in the majority of the cast, but the constant threat that they could easily be taken and mutated into one of the horrific "flowering dead" gave their story stakes that it wouldn't have had otherwise. Federici's artwork is a constant strength, too, and he brings some impressive detail and scale to the pages that really sell the world. His action occasionally lacks the momentum it seems to have been aiming for, hindering the excitement of the series' loftier moments. The moody colors, striking framing, and sharp facial work help a lot, though, but it's still a bummer that a comic with this much ambition can't quite nail its combat sequences.
I'm giving this a solid 3.5 stars, but I will always round up because I'm generous, and I would like to see more from this world. The Last God may not iterate much on the classic "fate of the world" questline, but the depth of the world and the twisted, imaginative secrets it holds is worth exploring. For example, there's a one-shot, prequel story—from Dan Watters and Steve Beach—included here that is arguably the best bit of storytelling in the whole package. That statement is less of an indictment of the main series, and more a demonstration of how rich and textured the world of The Fellspyre Chronicles is and how deserving it is of further exploration.
The horror elements are grotesque, unsettling, and consistently got under my skin. I never felt much investment in the majority of the cast, but the constant threat that they could easily be taken and mutated into one of the horrific "flowering dead" gave their story stakes that it wouldn't have had otherwise. Federici's artwork is a constant strength, too, and he brings some impressive detail and scale to the pages that really sell the world. His action occasionally lacks the momentum it seems to have been aiming for, hindering the excitement of the series' loftier moments. The moody colors, striking framing, and sharp facial work help a lot, though, but it's still a bummer that a comic with this much ambition can't quite nail its combat sequences.
I'm giving this a solid 3.5 stars, but I will always round up because I'm generous, and I would like to see more from this world. The Last God may not iterate much on the classic "fate of the world" questline, but the depth of the world and the twisted, imaginative secrets it holds is worth exploring. For example, there's a one-shot, prequel story—from Dan Watters and Steve Beach—included here that is arguably the best bit of storytelling in the whole package. That statement is less of an indictment of the main series, and more a demonstration of how rich and textured the world of The Fellspyre Chronicles is and how deserving it is of further exploration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
Minor: Slavery
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