Summoners War Legacy #3

Summoners War Legacy #3

Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment 2021

Written by Justin Jordan

Illustrated by Luca Claretti

Coloured by Giovanna Niro

Lettered by Deron Bennett

After last issue’s stunning turn of events, Abuus Dein faces off against rogue summoner Voss Ayers in a battle for the ages!

I love this book and honestly these two kids need to find a way to not only work together but kind of grow up and realise that the world is a much harsher and more dangerous place than either of them have had the opportunity to experience in their short lives. Last issue shocking cliffhanger ending definitely sets the stage for them to grow faster than they’d like after all they are full of optimism and confidence in ways that only teenagers possess. So I am going to look forward to seeing how this issue changes them as the series continues. This is what Justin does though he writes a story and uses the emotional and practicality of it to get the reader engaged and invested in it before you yourself have realised that its happened. That he understands when and how to maximise the affects of said story at just the right moment is one of the many reasons I admire him as a writer.

I really like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development is incredibly strong thanks to how we see the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it is easy to get caught up in what we see.

I like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and strengthen. It is within these layers where the characterisation is strongest and where we learn about the people in this story. This is also where we see the extra depth and complexity really have an opportunity to shine. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceedingly well.

With the very nature of this story being what it is it should come as no surprise that this feels like something along the lines of say Cardcaptor Sakura making it feel almost like American Anime. It is perfectly suited for this story plain and simple. The linework is sensational and how we see the varying weights being utilised to create the detail work is extremely nice to see. I wish we’d see more background but in all fairness this is outdoors and there isn’t a lot of places for backgrounds to be seen. Still because of the creatures and the nature of the characters we get some dynamic depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show an extremely talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered. How the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great eye for colour and how to utilise it for maximum effect. That giant gem creature and how the colours within it are seen is just a stunning display.

​

I like that this story isn’t dragging out and that what we see has the right pace to it so that all the bits the kids need to experience are happening and the ramifications of what see here will continue into the next issue. This is so well written and illustrated and deals with some tough issues and yet somehow finds a way to remain upbeat and interesting.