Elsbeth And Dag Return In A New Arc With Sword Daughter #7
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Elsbeth and Dag are now hiding out of Northumberland. Dag lost his fingers in his last battle against the Forty Swords, and Elsbeth is now the only one in fighting condition. A young girl finds Elsbeth and requests aid. The local lords are looking to force Christianity on the masses at any cost, and the lords are being pushed to do so by the priests. The girl wants Elsbeth to kill the priests. Dag wants Elsbeth to sit this conflict out, but Elsbeth is inclined to help the girl.
Sword Daughter #7 brings the Brian Wood and Mack Chater series back with a new challenge for Elsbeth and Dag. The Church has made it out to Britain, and it looks to bring all pagans into the fold on threat of death.
The strained relationship between Dag and his daughter continues to be one of the most engaging elements of the comic. Dag abandoned his daughter for a decade after they lost their family, and then he trained her to be a killer. Elsbeth can’t help but hold some resentment towards her father for that, and Dag seems almost frightened of what his daughter has become.
Sword Daughter has always been light on dialogue and narration, opting to let the art do the talking. It continues that trend with #7, and the book continues to benefit from it. Comics are a visual medium, and Sword Daughter knows how to take advantage of that.
It does also help that Mack Chater is an incredible artist. The landscapes are wonderfully-rendered, and Dag and Elsbeth drip with visual personality. Jose Villarrubia’s color art is atmospheric, helping the book maintain its dower and heavy tone. This comic is downright gorgeous.
Sword Daughter #7 is another fantastic issue from the Dark Horse comic series. Dag and Elsbeth have a new adversary, and it poses a new and complicated challenge for the two sword savants. This comic gets a recommendation for sure. Give it a read.
Sword Daughter #7 comes to us from writer Brian Wood, artist and variant cover artist Mack Chater, color artist Jose Villarrubia, letterer Nate Piekos of Blambot, and cover artist Ben Oliver.
Final Score: 8.5/10
