George
“It's fine, the art is beautiful but the stories being told didn't really hook me - DNF 150/328 - 2.5”
While the descriptions of the female characters were questionable (and often distracting when it interjects during important conversations), the book has a decent mystery and the action was alright. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either... it's alright.
Will check out the second book eventually.
I had a good time reading this comic, the art was absolutely beautiful, and I loved the alternate takes on pretty much every single character. The only complaint I had is, I wish it was a bit longer. I can't help but feel a lot of the emotional moments lose some of their impact because we just don't spend enough time with the characters. More scenes with Barry and his Mom, Shazam and the kids, and especially the final battle sequence which felt like it ended a bit too quickly.
3.5
2.5 - rounded to 3.
Characters were fun and the dynamics between them were interesting. Rastilin was especially cool. Also gully dwarf chapters were the best in the book.
It was a strong 3 throughout but the last few chapters were... bad for lack of a better word. I hated Laurana, Gilthana, and everything to do with the “Betrayal” plot (hey dude we have a traitor among us who probably exposed our plan to the bad guy - ye but what if we do it anyway). It soured the taste of an otherwise ok book.
Fwiw, got some good material for my Shadow of the Dragon Queen campaign, will definitely be using that village with the wicker dragon in my campaign.
“That's the joy of myths. The fun comes in telling them yourself—
something I warmly encourage you to do, you person reading this. Read the
stories in this book, then make them your own, and on some dark and icy
winter's evening, or on a summer night when the sun will not set, tell your
friends what happened when Thor's hammer was stolen, or how Odin
obtained the mead of poetry for the gods . . .”
Neil Gaiman