By Zack Quaintance — I’ll just come out and say it: Barbaric #1 is a perfect first issue. It actually makes it somewhat tough to write about. There’s too much done right in this first issue to really cover everything that works and why. But in short, this book is a perfect blend of a fantastic wild concept, madcap pacing, gruff humor, and fearlessness subversion of some of genre fiction’s sacred cows. Phew. Like I said, there’s a lot done right in this comic.

It’s also a perfectly-illustrated comic, wherein the ample talents of artist Nathan Gooden and colorist Addison Duke are in full display. Gooden is in my opinion one of the most underrated artists in all of comics, able to seemlessly straddle the very tricky line between visionary design and entertaining visual storytelling. As one of the founders of Vault Comics, he drew one of the titles that first caught my eye from the young publisher, Zojaqan — a book I still regularly recommend to Vault neophytes — as well as Vault’s first book market graphic novel, Brandon Sanderson’s Dark One. Both of those titles looked incredible as they used a sort of polished-yet-rough-hewn fantasy art to play with ideas around stories and realities, around the meaning of narratives, around the way that we fold events into arcs to make meaning of our existences and our lives.

And Barbaric has some of that. Gooden and Duke team here with writer Michael Moreci, whose space opera collaboration with artist Hayden Sherman (colored by Jason Wordie) is Vault’s longest running title. In Barbaric, fans will find an absurdly entertaining cross section of the story interests found in both Gooden and Moreci’s respective Vault works. Barbaric is a send up of a kind of barbarian or Norse comic that has seen a revival as of late. It’s tempting to draw a quick comparison to Conan the Barbarian, but that’s a disservice to this book.

Barbaric is a subversion of the mythological hero, of the crass heavy-drinker who smites evil with over-the-top brute force before ending up (tastefully!) filled with ale and surrounded by usually nameless lovers. This is a story that has stripped any and all glamor from that concept. The hero is rough and beaten, but not in a way that makes the audience fantasize for his existence. He’s tired, he’s relatable, and he’s funny in his darkness. To accentuate all of this, he also wields a talking axe that gets drunk on the blood of his foes, and drunk in a familiar to real life way that adds to the anti-glamor. As the ax imbibes the violence and vengeance, his judgement becomes clouded, his points blurry, his thirst for what comes next compulsive. It’s an entertaining concept on its own, and it’s massively elevated when combined with the grubby tumbledown barbarian at this book’s center.

On top of all that, Barbaric #1 just features that intangible and indescribable bit of magic that all great comics seem to have, an impossible to articulate something that keeps the reader’s eye rushing over the pages, relentlessly entertaining the brain as it both savors the visuals while also hurrying to find out what happens next. Barbaric #1 is an uncouth comic, but never so much so that the book starts to feel obvious or too easy. The expectations it sets up get diverted in interesting ways, and it’s ultimately a fast-paced romp that doesn’t skimp on the layered philosophy or smart concepts needed to foster a meaningful core. This is a book that takes everything we thought we knew about mythic heroes and reflects it through the flawed and imperfect lens of real humanity, putting an enabling talking axe in hand to heighten the tone as our hero stumbles through regrets en route toward one more attempt to do his got-damned best.

Barbaric #1 is, simply put, one of this year’s true must-read comics, a launchpad for a great new series that if it maintains this level of quality should run for many years. Do yourself a favor, and go buy it today.

Overall: The best new #1 comic of the year so far, Barbaric #1 is a perfect debut issue, a subversive romp with a hilarious and entertaining concept put on top layers of relatable conflict and philosophy. Don’t miss this book. 10/10

REVIEW: Barbaric #1

Barbaric #1
Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Vault Comics
Owen the Barbarian has been cursed to do good with what remains of his life. His bloodthirsty weapon, Axe, has become his moral compass with a drinking problem. Together they wander the realm, foredoomed to help any who seek assistance. But there is one thing Owen hates more than a life with rules: Witches.
Welcome to the skull-cracking, blood-splattering, mayhem-loving comic brave enough to ask: How can a man sworn to do good do so much violence? Hah! F***ing with you. It’s just…BARBARIC.
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Barbaric #1

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.