New York Times Bestselling author Landry Q. Walker and artist Justin Greenwood have teamed up to bring us the Medieval comic The Last Siege.
“After years of war, lords of the West have fallen to a cruel king - a warlord from across the sea. Now the king has sent his most brutal knights to claim the remaining free provinces. These territories fall quickly - most agreeing to terms of peace rather than risk further war, as they have been left defenseless and weak after years of strife. Only one house remains - a small castle on the distant coast, whose ruler fell during the final battle.”
And so our story begins. The first page shows us a rural dirt street with crows picking apart the bones of a decaying corpse. A strangers presence scatters the crows as he continues down the road to the last free castle, yet to be conquered by the warring king. This silent opening sequence does a masterful job of setting the scene. The carcass represents the town, rotting away, while the crows represent a soon to be introduced antagonist who is trying to pick apart the town's resources, and the stranger's appearance casts them aside. During this sequence, Eric Jones’ coloring gives a feeling of bleakness using dark and muted tones, reinforcing the feeling of tough times and tribulation for our characters.
Walker starts his script by describing the dire situation of this last free castle town. Exposition is sparse and makes for a quick read. He gives us a glimpse at their small town politics, but does so without clogging up the pace of the story. The Last Siege has plenty of action and Greenwood does a good job of depicting bar brawl fights in this Middle Age world. I can’t help but compare this comic to Game of Thrones, except there aren’t any dragons or white walkers (at least as far as we know).
The Last Siege #1 is a superb work of atmosphere, action-packed storytelling, and medieval politics that I can't help but love. I’m excited to see what Walker and Greenwood bring us in the next issue.