So your an undead dethroned king. You just had most of your limbs torn off by savage warrior women and left hanging in the open. What would you do in this kind of predicament? Well if your Valen the Outcast from the pages of the Boom Studios book of the same name, you pull yourself together and go to kick some ass. Literally.
While this might sound gruesomely simple and not very imaginative, in the case of Valen it’s not just some simple zombie plot. What makes the Valen the Outcast written by Micheal Alan Nelson and drawn by Matteo Scalera different is that there is more brain power going on here than simply blood and guts.
Even with a simple minded goal like reclaiming his soul, Valen is not just a killing machine. He uses his undead nature to his advantage. Like taking a blade to the heart to get in close to his opponent. A strategy that would not be used if he was still alive.
I’ve said it before in other reviews of Valen and I’ll say it again here, because it’s still true. Matteo Scalera’s art is great. It’s dynamic where it needs to be and is strong enough to allow the varying of surroundings and culture help tell the story. While we still have some traditional fantasy staples such as scantly clad women. Or a clan dominated by warrior women for that matter. The world that writer Micheal Alan Nelson is making for his story is different and refreshing.
And it looks like I will have to wait another whole month before I see the villain I’ve been dying see come into action since the end of issue one. Let’s just say that I’m looking forward to how Mr. Nelson is going to twist and transform what appears to be a normal little boy into a suitable adversary for Valen. That’s right I said it was a little boy.
If you like sword and sorcery adventure, and but that I mean grim and gritty stuff. Go pick up Valen. Check and see if you can grab the back issue’s too. The story up to this point has been eventful and fun.
