The Stranger Faces An Unexpected Threat In The Last Siege #3

On the outskirts of the forest, Feist’s men prepare to seize the castle, promising to rain death upon the defenders. Unaware of this peril, the court advisors search for clues to the origin of the mysterious Stranger.

In The Last Siege #3, the Stranger is still preparing the castle to defend against an inevitable siege from the North. Outnumbered, untrained, and exhausted, the small number of men that remain within the castle walls will have to rely heavily on their interim liege’s military expertise and a few trick plays. There happens to be a huge cache of black powder hidden under the castle. That’ll probably come into play soon.

The Stranger’s integrity is also an issue in this third chapter. His rigid code of ethics and strict adherence to protocol in allowing Feist to live will definitely come back around to bite him in the backside. As preparations are being made within the curtain wall, Feist is lying in wait, setting his own trap.

Landry Q. Walker is still playing his hand close to his chest. We still don’t know a lot about the Stranger, but that seems about to change. The juvenile Lady of the castle remains surprisingly silent well into this third installment, but it isn’t coming off so much like a “persecuted maiden” trope. The stranger clearly defers to Cathryn’s authority in decisions that will affect her people and her holdings.
Every issue so far has featured a barbarous fight scene, and chapter three sticks to the formula. Justin Greenwood’s action sequences are quick and dirty, but easy to follow. That edgy linework plays really well for the blended genres while conveying the urgency of these mini battles exceptionally well.

We’ve nearly reached the halfway point in this eight issue miniseries, and things are heating up. There’s a tense three-way dance happening between the as yet absent Usuper, Feist, and the stranger for control of the castle, and a mutiny from within the curtain walls isn’t completely out of the question. With as many questions are left unanswered, it’s shockingly easy to invest.

The Last Siege #3, published by Image Comics, released 01 August 2018. Written by Landry Q. Walker, artwork/cover by Justin Greenwood, color by Eric Jones, letters by Patrick Brosseau, variant cover by Ramon Villalobos, covers colored by Brad Simpson.