Review of Zorann: Star-Warrior #1

Been backing some indie comics lately on Kickstarter and came across this one last year. I finally got around reading it! I'd bought the digital (PDF) edition and enjoyed it!

Zorann: Star-Warrior #1 is a 40 page, black and white comic that was co-created by artist Dell Barras and writer Craig A. Stormon. It was first published in 1989 by Blue Comet at 32 pages, with B&W interior. It was republished via a 2024 Kickstarter campaign by Drew D. Lenhart (letters, editor, publisher) of SnowyWorks with color covers by Bea Navarro.

This comic consists of two stories – a complete 23-page Zorann adventure and a 5-page preview (the prologue) of Bladesmen Book 1 – “A Gathering of Hawks!” There are also 11 full page illustrations, the credits page, an ad for another comic, and the original color cover of the 1989 edition. Plus, the front and back color cover, of course.

As described at MyComicShop.com, this is: “A double-helping of fantasy adventure inspired by the great pulp and comics heroes of the past. Zorann, a Conan-style barbarian warrior on a prehistoric alien world, battles monstrous beasts and evil magic astride his telepathic pterodactyl.” 

That’s a good summary, and the alien world setting would make this a sword and planet tale, thus Zorann is called a star-warrior. Unfortunately, after a search online, I couldn’t find any other issues beyond this inaugural book. The good news is, I contacted SnowyWorks and Drew Lenhart told me that Dell Barras is working on a second issue which will probably come out next year. So that’s super cool.

This initial episode is titled, “My Enemies Blood.” And I wondered if it shouldn’t be “My Enemies’ Blood.” There are a few more editorial and typographical errors sprinkled throughout the comic. The most glaring was a line about the failure of the evil guards to defeat Zorann; instead: “All three were exposed of.” The phrase should be ‘disposed of’ since Zorann defeated them. 

As for the actual storyline, it’s quite the adventure! Maybe a bit overly dramatic at times, bordering on campy. The plotting was somewhat uneven as well – the action jumped from one crisis to the next, skipping, in my opinion, some much-needed exposition or transition elements. Spoilers ahead…

Zorann saves the sorceress Relonda and her much younger brother, then he saves a telepathic pterodactyl which he rides to her castle only to find that Relonda and the soul-stone have been taken by the Demon-Man Raggal, leader of the Blood-Realm, which is an unknown land, its location no one knows…and yet Zorann finds it and, of course, seeks to rescue the sorceress before Raggal unleashes his minions from the pit of darkness and fire! 

It felt like the authors wanted to cram too much story into too little space with a lot of ‘figure it out yourself’ assumptions left for the reader to make. I mean, it was a fun ride but kind of over-the-top at times. Now I’m not a comic book expert, so maybe ‘big action’ is simply a common feature of this kind of storytelling. Plus, this issue intentionally harkens back to the classic pulp and Conan era, so I’m probably being too harsh in my critique – it was a very entertaining read and I really enjoyed the comic.

Another minor complaint, though, is some inconsistent drawings when it came to the illos of Relonda. She’s a sorceress but her facial features and costume sometimes change from one section to the next. Again, I’m not a comic book expert so I’m not commenting on the quality of the artwork, which I thought was pretty cool for the most part.

Overall, Zorann #1 is fun romp and I’m glad I backed the campaign that saw its revival. You can read the original online here: https://readallcomics.com/zorann-star-warrior-full/

In the second comic about the Bladesmen, the description from MyComicShop also nails it: “In ‘A Gathering of Hawks,’ warriors from four kingdoms join forces against the monster terrorizing their land. Arthon, Alegra the Amazon, Elvore the elf, and Ricotto the Centaur band together to become the Bladesmen.” 

The monster is a demon-like monstrosity, Arkella the Arcane. And the plot hints at a secret strategy to defeat her in battle.

This preview (too short!) grabbed my attention and it left me wanting more. So I did some research and found 3 or 4 more issues of this comic – and eventually finish reading the story!

Rating: 4.5 stars for the teaser, both story and artwork. The whole issue? Solid 4 out of 5. Recommended for S&S/Conan comic fans.  

Review of Laws and Prophecies by LS King

Laws and Prophecies by LS King

Laws and Prophecies is the fourth book (Book 3, actually, plus a prequel) in L.S. King's Sword's Edge Chronicles. I had the privilege of beta reading her first sword & planet novel, Sword's Edge, about ten years ago or more and very much enjoyed her world-building. “Sword & Planet” is kind of like science fiction in a fantasy setting – a medieval world but manipulated by aliens with superior technology.

The series follows a clan of Rangers charged with keeping order in their home world. They were colonized there by the Enaisi, an advanced civilization that gave them a charter on how to live simply and peaceably. Of course, life on this new planet is not paradise and thus the adventures in this series.

Here's the blurb to Sword's Edge Chronicles Book Three, Laws and Prophecies:

Thane Alcandhor is assailed from all sides: treason within his clan, conspiracies from kin, and turmoil due to the return of the aliens known as the Enaisi. When hit by a final onslaught—rebellion by provincial lords threatening to set up their own despotic princedoms, Alcandhor is forced to choose between upholding their laws and fulfilling ancient, haunting prophecies.

So yes, there are prophecies but they aren't the typically annoying fantasy world prophecies that populate so many YA sagas. Sword's Edge involves an expansive plot, is broad in scope yet tightly told, and features characters you'll care about.

My only complaint about this 'final' book is that it's not the final installment. I felt the story could have ended without a cliff-hanger about 100 pages prior to the cliff-hanger ending and would have been more satisfying as a stand-alone story. But heh, it means there's another novel coming some day!

Recommended for those who enjoy relatively clean adventure stories (no real cussing, although there is some violence) along with a space and fantasy setting. Here's the Goodreads series page.