Birthright #38 Is The Non-Stop Fantasy Action Book You Need Right Now
by James Ferguson
The fate of Earth and Terrenos hangs in the balance as the connection between the two worlds threatens to destroy them both. Mikey can’t put an end to this on his own. He needs help from an unlikely source: Lore’s own daughter, Mastema. She’s holed up in a tower surrounded by all sorts of horrific monsters. Looks like we’re in for a dungeon crawl.
Birthright #38 is all-out action. Mikey and his forces go head-to-head with an army of fantastical creatures in truly bombastic fashion. Artist Andrei Bressan has outdone himself here. Bullets and magical energy are flying every which way in scenes worthy of the biggest blockbusters on the silver screen. It’s almost overwhelming at times as the chaos of the battle weaves through every page.
Although Mikey has been training these soldiers for this, they’re still severely outgunned. These monsters literally tear through them, sending blood and guts through the air in horrifying ways. This sequence is paced beautifully, moving from one obstacle to the next.
With all this magical gunfire, it’s no surprise that colorist Adriano Lucas is working overtime, filling the page with bright bursts of energy and explosions. The blasts illuminate the tower and everyone in it to the point where you’d expect them all to get sunburn. One of the most impressive elements is Mikey’s flaming sword that slices through almost anything in a whirlwind of destruction.
Just when things reach a peak, writer Joshua Williamson takes it down a notch with an interstitial with Mikey’s family back at the base. These little moments keep the rest of the group connected to the action while also furthering their own storylines. Birthright excels when it works off of the family dynamic, but Mikey’s mom isn’t going to be fighting a cerberus any time soon. This allows us to check in on her since she’s still very much a part of everything that’s going on.
Of the rest of the family, Brennan’s story is perhaps the most interesting. He had a rough encounter with magic, but he’s still experimenting with it. Here he enters the astral plane in an effort to get through to Kallista. Her appearance here is telling as she sees herself as young and full of life. This is in stark contrast to the twisted monster she’s become. Mikey was able to come back from the brink, but you have to wonder if Kallista is too far gone.
Brennan floats about Kallista in this scene like a specter in an eerie blue haze. Letterer Pat Brosseau matches this in Brennan’s word balloons, adding to the ethereal nature of the astral plane.
Birthright takes a major turn at the end of this issue that changes the game considerably. Just when you think you have an idea of where this book is going, the creative team throws you a huge curveball that will leave your jaw on the floor. I cannot wait to see how this new twist fits in with the vast mythos that has already been established.
Birthright #38 from Image Comics & Skybound Entertainment is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.
