A. Guardian Volume I, Review

A. Guardian, by Eastin DeVerna and Kay Baird, with letters by Shawn Daley, is an epic dark fantasy graphic novel set in a stunning world.

Aylward is the ancient guardian of The Tomb of Livia in the Middle Kingdom of Kanoc. The Northern, Middle, and Southern kingdoms of the Great Sphere are plunged into a three-pronged war once again. Aylward will soon find that the fate of the realm is a heavy weight to bear, as the tomb holds something mysterious that only the king of Kanoc knows about. Not even Aylward knows what the tomb contains. But there are rumours, and so Aylward must protect the tomb to ensure no one but the king may enter.

Let's start with the art. Kay Baird has a fantastic art style. It's simple and clean, showing that this style can look just as nice as really detailed art when done right. The line work is crisp and clean. There are some panels where there is some great detail, though, particularly with the background. Some market stalls or a faraway city. Some ancient ruins look absolutely stunning. And later on in the story, Aylward's arm gains some lovely textures. But where this all really shines is in the colouring.

A lot of pages use one colour tone, and it looks incredible, only broken up with red - either blood or the king's cape. Using different variations of a single colour throughout the page makes for a really interesting style along with the art. It's almost a shame that it's occasionally broken up with the elves' blue skin, but that's muted enough that it still looks good, as they still look like they belong on the page that otherwise uses a single colour tone. The style makes every page a true piece of art. I've been reading and reviewing comics for years over at Comic Book News UK, and I can't remember seeing a style like this. Love it.

As for the story, Eastin DeVerna has crafted a story full of intrigue and interesting characters. Aylard is fleshed out with some flashbacks, and each of the three issues that make up volume one gives enough time to all the main players. By the end, I'm desperate to know what's in the tomb. There's also a blade that will either ensure the salvation of the realm or trigger its destruction, that's used later on to show that it could quite well be a deciding factor in how this fight is going to go. There's more to flesh out, but we're far from done with the story.

There's a lot going on throughout, with nothing feeling too overwhelming. It's a story that flows nicely. There are some brutal moments and some touching ones. It's not just worldbuilding, but character-building. It's done well enough that the story still progresses at a decent pace.

The lettering by Shawn Daley is hit-and-miss. The general text used for word bubbles is clean and clear. Some of the text boxes, likewise, are easy to read. But there's one font used for text boxes telling an ancient story of the realms that aren't as easy to read. It uses a mixture of upper and lowercase text that I'm not a fan of. Reading it on a tablet was okay, but moving to my phone and it wasn't as easy to read - unlike the rest of the text. I asked my girlfriend to have a quick glance at it, as she's dyslexic, and she struggled. I get what they're going for, as the font matches the fantasy theme. But the standard font used for speech bubbles was much clearer and easier to read.

Overall, A. Guardian volume one is a brilliant first instalment. It's only three chapters, but there's more than enough to get heavily invested in not just the story but also the art. The two sides complement each other incredibly well, and the stylistic choices, particularly with the colours, make this a standout series. I need more, and I'd be surprised if any fantasy comic fan reading this graphic novel doesn't come away feeling the same.

There's also a bonus short story tagged onto the end, with art by Grim Wilkins called Worse Than Kings. It's a nice art style that's very different to the rest of the story in both art and colouring. It adds a bit more to the world of the Great Sphere and the dagger that might decide everything. A nice little addition to end the first volume.

If you're in the US, you can buy A. Guardian through DeVerna's Esty page. Hopefully, a digital version will be available at some point for non-US customers because this deserves to be read by people from anywhere in the world.

Rating: 4.5/5