Review – Queen of Swords #2 (Vault Comics)

August 16, 2023

3–4 minutes

Publisher: Vault Comics
Writer: Michael Moreci
Artwork: Corin Howell
Colourist: K.J. Diaz
Lettering: Jim Campbell
Release Date: 16th August 2023

Queen of Swords is an all-new tale spinning out of the hit Vault Comics series Barbaric, and features a lot of the key components that helped make the the main title such a runaway success. We have violence, we have humour, we have a bloodthirsty talking weapon and we have series writer Michael Moreci’s innate knack for irreverent mayhem. Moreci is joined here by Corin Howell and K.J. Diaz, who do a fantastic job on the visual side of the series, ensuring the aesthetic is both familiar and distinctive.

The story is based around three main protagonists: Serra, a witch who has something of a complicated history with main series stalwart Soren; Ka, an assassin with trust issues who appears to have her own hidden agenda; and Deadheart, a barbarian who loves nothing more than a bit of a scrap. A lot of the story is your typical fantasy fare, complete with fearsome monsters to be slain, magic items to be recovered, and plenty of the aforementioned violence along the way, but it’s the characters themselves that really elevate this series to a whole other level.

As with the first issue, the friction and mistrust between Ka and Serra continues to take centre stage here, although it does seem to be developing into something a little more “positive”, which is certainly an interesting development considering their previous interactions. Unfortunately however, these exchanges – along with the intriguing Soren-focused flashback sequences which pepper the oversized 34-page issue – pretty much leave Deadheart as the odd woman out, and very much the least interesting of the three.

Thankfully, and much like the main Barbaric series, one of the main selling points of this story is the enchanted weapon shenanigans, provided here by Ga’Bar, an evil, overtly misogynistic spirit who is imprisoned within Deadheart’s sword. While he started off mocking his wielder and vocally praying for her downfall, the disdain he has for his current situation is gradually giving way to a little bit of enjoyment. And by “enjoyment”, I mean a mildly unsettling, borderline pornographic love of battle, death and bloodshed. It’s truly glorious.

Circling back to the visual side of the book, it truly cannot be understated just how important Howell and Diaz’s art and colours are in terms of making this story work as well as it does. The characters are distinctive and expressive, the monster designs are brilliantly eye-catching, and the action and violence – of which there is a lot – is delivered with an exuberance and flair that would make Ga’Bar’s hilt grow hard. Ahem. It’s a great visual package, and a tip of the proverbial cap should also be given to letterer extraordinaire Jim Campbell for keeping things flowing smoothly and helping to underscore the key storyline beats throughout.

One thing that’s worth noting is that Queen of Swords is a standalone tale that also ties in nicely to the established Barbaric Universe, so while it’s perfectly possible to read (and thoroughly enjoy) this story in isolation, to get the full effect it’s probably going to be worth spending a little time getting up to speed with the three Barbaric arcs that have already been published. On the plus side, they’re all bloody fantastic, so it’s by no means going to be an arduous task.

While this doesn’t quite hit the dizzy heights of the first issue, it’s still another fiercely strong issue that has all the winning components of its fan-favourite parent series. For me, “irreverent fantasy” is a really tricky genre to crack. Pull back too much and you’ve basically just got plain ol’ fantasy, but push the envelope too far and you run the risk of becoming out-and-out parody. Thankfully, Moreci, Howell and co. continue to land right in the sweet spot, delivering a cracking new series packed with dark humour, dark fantasy and sexually inappropriate swordplay. Highly, highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]