Valen the Outcast #1-3 Review
by Darryll YTC Carter
Writter
Michael Alan Nelson
Artist
Matteo Scalera
Colors
Archie Van Buren
Letters
Ed Dukeshire
Publisher
Boom! Studios
Over the weekend, your beloved CBC editor-in-chief dropped off some comics during a friendly Saturday gathering of Dungeons and Dragons. When he presented me with Valen the Outcast, I didn’t think much of it. The cover looked okay, I had never really read a Boom! Studios book before and the chick on the cover was hot. I didn’t know what to expect. But what I got was a delightful treat and a great read.
Valen the Outcast is the story of well… Valen, former King of Oakhaven turned undead abomination and his quest to retrieve his soul from the evil and nefarious necromancer, Korrus Null. The exact details behind Valen’s rebirth into the ‘unlife’ have yet to be revealed by issue three. However, it is apparent that after a hard battle with the army of Korrus Null, Valen’s army was quelled and he was defeated and turned into an undead minion to under the necromancer’s control. Through, presumably (unless it is a hidden ploy at the hands of Null), the sheer force of will, Valen’s personality overpowered the spell over him. With the help from Zjanna and Cordovan, Valen makes sets out on a trek for Wraithendal and his soul.
VTO follows the classic pattern of a hero who embarks on a journey and picks up companions on the way. These companions may hate him or feel indifferent toward him at first, but come the end game, they will be loyal in one manner or another. VTO actually reminds me of an rpg, roleplaying game. It has a D&D and Dragon Age feel to its atmosphere. It could be the medieval setting, in a fantasy world of swords and magic. But I think it really comes down to the characters.
Valen is the leader and an ox of a man. He’s very tank like in appearance and personality. He prefers to attack things head on and would rather shrug off a blow then outright evade it. His undead disposition… gives him the ability to shrug off more than the average man. The only way to put him down permanently is to sever his head or pierce his heart. Combine that with the military mind of a warrior king and you get fine inventions like heart armor. Possibly my favorite part of the three books; Valen has a blacksmith forge him a device built to his specifications that he employs as a orb of armor for his heart. That’s just badass. Then you have Cordovan, who is a seedy, sly and witty drunkard. He is the rogue of the group, with connections to the shadier side of the world and excels with daggers and knives. Lastly, is Zjanna who I presumed was skilled in magic. She separates the link between Valen and Null, an act equivalent to taking the ring off Frodo’s finger, preventing Sauron from seeing him. Zjanna comes off more as a ranger like character, one skilled in the hunt, traps and tracking.
So far the series has been awesome and it held my attention more than anything else I’ve read in the past two weeks. Accept maybe Suicide Squad. The art fits the tale and Scalera does a great job of capturing the scenery, the gore and the overall atmosphere of this world. But the real star here is the writing. Valen the Outcast gets a 4 out of 5 and I look forward to following this series down the brimstone brick road.
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