Review: The Untold Story Of A Free Man #1
From Black Rose Publishing
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Black Rose Publishing presents a new series - The Untold Story Of A Free Man. Issue #1 is out now, and my Kickstarter version has arrived!
The Untold Story Of A Free ManĀ is a ruthless and action packed quest following a free man as he sets out to change the world forever. Will the darkness lurking in the shadows come to light? It might just be even more sinister than imagined.
Written By: Jordan Nigh
Art By: Lorenzo Nicoletti
Letters By: Justin Birch
Cover Art By: Thomas Cawley
A new series with titles such as Not Tested On Animals and A Place Of Our Own, I wasnāt sure what to expect from this new beginning.
Slavery is a tough subject, and then you add in the supernatural elements and get an interesting story plot, which could go many ways.
First up, that front cover is fantastic. Full of action, it gives you a good impression of what you will find inside. All the characters on the cover show some excellent expressions of emotion, and it portrays what to expect inside without giving too much away.
The first part of this story really sets the tone. With a slave market going on, there is the āfree manā looking for another acquisition. It plays out well, and there is a good showing of who you should be rooting for. The owners are nasty people, and there are those under them who are just as bad. There is an excellent sequence on how much power is held and who by. At this point, Lady Amelia is mentioned with hushed tones, and you can see the response those in charge have to her (more on her later).
From here, there is the trek through the forest, and the story's tone gets even darker as the supernatural comes into play.
The action here, while short, is to the point and adds this new dimension to the story. The battle against a different evil is shown here as how these devils are dealt with. Itās a well-shown battle, with some clever moves and excess violence. Nevertheless, this is just the beginning of these, and it will be interesting to see them in future issues.
We arrive at the estate, and there is a good introduction to the new arrival. You can see how this is different for him as we meet some of the other characters, and they introduce him to the estate and where he will be.
Lady Amelia also makes her appearance, and - no spoilers - she does make an impression. This also throws up some interesting possibilities for the story as a whole.
The art is well done here, with not only the excellent action sequence shown well as described above but also some good character work with a range of emotions being shown by all characters - good and evil. I like how the shadows were used, which adds to the dramatic tension.
This made me think of the excellent East Of West by Vault Comics, although there are some big differences in the tone and the story being told. It introduces the character and setting well and has some good beginnings of an interesting story.
Get The Untold Story Of A Free Man #1 here from Black Rose Publishing here:
