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A review by lacee
Barbarous, Chapter 1 by Yuko Ota, J.N. Wiedle, Ananth Hirsh, Rachael Cohen
3.5
This is hard to rate. Technically this is a reread for me since the entire series can be read online and is still ongoing. The story is currently in the middle of its 5th chapter as of today and it's kind of hard not to take that into consideration when reviewing this chapter. I'm currently caught up on the series but wanted to purchase the physical copies of the chapters that are available so I could support the authors and give an official review.
This chapter started it all and I wouldn't be reviewing this installment if it didn't hook me. This series's greatest strength is its characters, world, and art. This particular chapter introduces visually unique characters that have a certain allure to them. We meet the main character Percy, an angsty character down on her luck as she tries to stop a theft on a subway. She uses her magic to stop the thief with the help of a stranger (a big buff monster cutie) named Leeds. Her magic ends up doing more harm than good and she reluctantly allows Leeds to introduce her to his mysterious boss and landlord Cecilia. Once this chapter ends you will want to know more. There are characters that seem to have more going on than meets the eye and if you continue on you'll be in for a few interesting reveals.
Since Barbarous is currently a free web series I've settled on 3.5 stars for this installment but note that the series as a whole is an easy 5 stars for me. I'm a huge fan of this series but it would be irresponsible to not be critical and honest. Chapter 1 on its own isn't the best execution of an introduction. There are some panels that I remember upon my first read being a little confusing and disorienting. Though some of the confusion will be addressed in later chapters once you understand the world, the characters and their motivation. I think that's the biggest issue with this chapter. The world building is in its early stages, the magic system is vague and the reader abruptly meets characters with little understanding of where they fit in the world. You're just kind of thrown in without a lot of context.
I think this series is at an advantage for being free on the web and well past it's first chapter. You can read this chapter and immediately continue on, making most of these issues moot. It's also important to note that this was a kickstarter addition and chapters 1 and 2 are the only physical copies of this series available on the authors' merch site. If you are at all interested in reading Barbarous I would recommend you start by reading the free web series first before reading the physical copy. After you've experienced the story and if you are able, consider supporting the authors. You can still experience the story at its best while still being considerate and respectful of its creators.
This chapter started it all and I wouldn't be reviewing this installment if it didn't hook me. This series's greatest strength is its characters, world, and art. This particular chapter introduces visually unique characters that have a certain allure to them. We meet the main character Percy, an angsty character down on her luck as she tries to stop a theft on a subway. She uses her magic to stop the thief with the help of a stranger (a big buff monster cutie) named Leeds. Her magic ends up doing more harm than good and she reluctantly allows Leeds to introduce her to his mysterious boss and landlord Cecilia. Once this chapter ends you will want to know more. There are characters that seem to have more going on than meets the eye and if you continue on you'll be in for a few interesting reveals.
Since Barbarous is currently a free web series I've settled on 3.5 stars for this installment but note that the series as a whole is an easy 5 stars for me. I'm a huge fan of this series but it would be irresponsible to not be critical and honest. Chapter 1 on its own isn't the best execution of an introduction. There are some panels that I remember upon my first read being a little confusing and disorienting. Though some of the confusion will be addressed in later chapters once you understand the world, the characters and their motivation. I think that's the biggest issue with this chapter. The world building is in its early stages, the magic system is vague and the reader abruptly meets characters with little understanding of where they fit in the world. You're just kind of thrown in without a lot of context.
I think this series is at an advantage for being free on the web and well past it's first chapter. You can read this chapter and immediately continue on, making most of these issues moot. It's also important to note that this was a kickstarter addition and chapters 1 and 2 are the only physical copies of this series available on the authors' merch site. If you are at all interested in reading Barbarous I would recommend you start by reading the free web series first before reading the physical copy. After you've experienced the story and if you are able, consider supporting the authors. You can still experience the story at its best while still being considerate and respectful of its creators.