Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus #1: Now in Technicolor!

Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus #1

Story By: George Mann

Art By: Alan Quah

Release Date: April 20th

Fira is on a journey to find the dragon’s tooth in the crystalline labyrinth. She’s guided by her companion Scryer Aldrich. Together they navigate the wiles of the maze. Fira’s memory has been wiped by some curse, that leaves her trying to piece together the past. Hex be damned she’s determined to find the dragon tooth.

I have never played any of the games made by FromSoftware. Not doing so I believe gives me an objective point of view when reviewing Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus #1. I am, however, like many of you, knee-deep in gaming culture. I’m fully aware of the critical acclaim this beloved series has received. This game is seen as a gamer’s game; one that doesn’t tone down the difficulty to gain the elusive casual gamer that companies are trying to attract. FromSoftware is one of the most trusted by gamers and adored for the reasons listed above.

Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus #1 has a story that lured me into the last page, then like a good fishermen, set the hook and now has me looking forward to issue #2. From what I gather from the video games the story is very minimal and you have to put together the story yourself. Primarily the reason why people get into the Dark Souls is the game play. Now I go gaga for a good bash em’ up comic book. Anytime Wolverine pushed his claws out and slashed a whole army of ninjas, or Thor slays some frost giants, I turn into a wide-eyed eight year-old. This comic gives the solid action that eight year-old me wants, but it gave adult me the drama to keep me interested. Writer George Mann gives Fira the wonderment of a child and the strength of a knight. Fira’s guide, Aldrich, adds to the mystique in the story. He’s obviously different that Fira, and it begs the question: Why are the two of them together in a crystalline labyrinth? George gives the reader the same perspective as Fira; the both of you have no idea what’s going on and why.

When it comes to how the book looks I need to include just more than the main artist, Alan Quah. The coloring is by Komikaki Studio, which was started by Alan Quah. They included in their band of artist Norah Khor for this issue. The drawing is what you’d want in a standard big publisher comic book, which is phenomenal. Dark Souls is, well…dark. When you play it be sure to turn up the brightness on your settings. This comic however is bright. It’s absolutely stunning. I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to artwork. Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus #1 had me looking back through the pages to look at the art. One particular thing I keep going back to is the eyes; they’re done so well. But the coloring in this book will make this stand out compared to other comics. This is why I felt compelled to note Komikaki Studio; there isn’t much to say other than you’ll have to see for yourself. Whether it’s the embers of sparks flying in the air, or the reflection off of a character’s eyes, their isn’t a detail that was left neglected. I feel like the artist were inspired by the bright gleaming 1981 movie Excalibur, which also had one of the raddest movie poster ever.

In other reviews I’ve done for Titan Comics, I see they’ve recruited a great amount of talented people to work on their books. Don’t let this studio slip your gaze. Take a chance with Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus #1, it’s an outstanding book with talented people behind it.