Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Andrei Bressan
Publisher: Image
Sometimes I read a comic so good I’ll feel the need to write about it right away as I’m so excited to talk about it and feel the need to share it with everyone. That is the feeling I got after reading the second issue of Birthright. I can’t remember the last time I read such a hugely ambitious story that seemed to display such a high level quality in only the first two issues. Birthright just really is that good, anything else I say is superfluous, go buy this book. If you’d like to read more high praise of this issue then by all means continue.
The first thing that struck me about this comic was the absolutely jaw-dropping art from Bressan. This is some of the best art I’ve seen in the industry today and is truly one of the most beautiful books on the shelves. Whether it’s the fantasy side or even the mundane elements, it all looks fantastic, everything about the worlds within the books just feel so beautifully realised. What’s interesting about the fantasy world especially is how it manages to invoke traditional fantasy worlds you’ve explored in books, movies or video games while still crafting its own unique visual style. The characters too are just brilliant, the inhabitants of the fantasy world themselves look visually cool and distinct, while the human characters are full of emotional expression. Both the styles manage to mesh perfectly into the book, with an action scene involving Mikey in the police station looking very visually powerful when the two styles collide.
There’s no doubt in my mind that colourist Andriano Lucas is a big reason for the art looking as beautiful as it does. He uses a very bold and colourful pallet which many modern comics seems to shy away from in favour of grit, which add to the distinct and beautiful look of the fantasy world. Lucas also managed to use the colour pallet to effectively present different emotions and atmospheres during the book. Mikey and Brenan’s nostalgic recollections look heart-warmingly innocent in the washed colours, while the dark reds of the sinister entity watching Mikey look absolutely terrifying. This is just an absolutely perfect book on the art front.
On the writing front, Williamson manages to be as high quality as the art term and fills the book full of small details which makes both worlds feel incredibly real. All of Mikey’s off hand references to his adventures create an impression of a huge lore behind this world, making it feel like more than just a backdrop for the story. Splitting the narrative into two is a risky move which may have left the story feeling schizophrenic or spread thin, but luckily Williamson balances the two to great effect, feeding each story into one the other and making them both genuinely interesting and highly entertaining.
As stated, while the story itself is a deliberately familiar one, it’s the twists Williamson places on the genre that truly make this comic an interesting read. We’ve seen this sort of situation in movies like Flight of the Navigator, but Williamson’s clever use of deception in both tales make the reader think for themselves and add new layers to the story which will keep things interesting going ahead. While we usually have the sort of story of the family not trusting the returned son, here we actually have good reason for the family not to trust their son, given the reveal at the end of the last issue, meaning what would usually be a cliché that slows down the pace actually becomes highly tense as we know something the characters don’t. Even in the fantasy world, it seems the typical “child becomes hero” story will not be played completely straight and we’ll be seeing some interesting twists on the formula in the coming issues.
So after reading a whole page of praise, it should be obvious what I think of this book. I’m not one to normally give out ratings such as the one below as I always find some flaw or feel like a book can improve as issues go on, but I feel this is a really top quality comic that deserves it. If you’ve yet to read this series, run out to your local comics shop, get it on comixology or buy it anywhere as soon as possible. This is what brilliant comics are made of, I can see this become a huge hit so you may as well jump on board now so you can be a hipster about it a year from now.
