Advance Review: Scourge Of The Skull Digger #1
From Triumph Comics
Scourge Of The Skull Digger #1 is coming soon to Kickstarter from Triumph Comics, and I had the chance to get an advanced look at the beginning of this new series.
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The villains of Talon, the world’s peacekeeping organization, take center stage as they begin to hatch carefully contrived plans. Dominious Leader Ivan Vasilyevich lost big time to Talon at the Battle of New Zalos. Now, he’s dispatched his trusted general Skull Digger to round up some fresh recruits. But unbeknownst to Ivan, the Skull Digger is beholden to a far more sinister threat—an ancient being that controls the key to the Skull Digger’s incredible power.
It's an interesting beginning to this story—starting out with a loss for our main character. Even so, it does build well to the main aspect of the story and works well as a framing mechanism to allow us to not only get to know Skull Digger but also lead us to the main point of the story.
As Skull Digger’s journey progresses, we get some excellent commentary on the nature of the man, but that is nothing compared to what we get when he gets to his destination. Here, we learn his reasoning, and then we get a deep dive into the nature of Skull Digger and the beliefs around him. This is an integral part of the story, and his purging of those who are not true is well played out.
The build in this story is excellent, and it keeps you gripped. It introduces some characters fleetly, but they all make a significant impact on the story, and you can see the ones who are going to have a larger role to play in the story moving forward. I especially like the commentary on the characters as we move on, and it makes the story feel like a Conan story but set in more modern times.
The artwork also makes good use of the story, with demons, action, and more being well-woven into the comic. The rapture style is well played out, and some interesting aspects will be made more of as the story progresses. The abrupt shift in tone and location is jarring in a good way for the final part of the story and gives an excellent tonal shift.
A good amount is going on in this first issue, and although it feels longer, the story doesn’t drag, and it pulls you in. This looks like the beginning of an epic story.
Very glad you enjoyed the story Michael, and I think you'll really enjoy the next 6 chapters of the saga just as much!
I’m glad you appreciate this first story! To state that it’s like a Conan book in modern times is a very accurate description.