SALVATION #0/1, available now from Animation Comics Entertainment, tells the story of Vahn, a Demon/Human hybrid, who seeks revenge against those who destroyed his village and freedom from the curse that marks him with dark power.
The Details
- Written By: Terence Young
- Art By: Dwayne Robinson Jr.
- Colors By: John Cruz
- Cover Art By: Dwayne Robinson Jr., John Cruz
- Cover Price: $3.00 each for issues #0 and #1
- Release Date: Available Now
Was It Good?
It has promise. Whenever a new series launches a new world with lore, legends, rules, and history, creators run the risk of either telling the readers too much (exposition dump) or not enough (frustrating and confusing). The creators on this team strike a fairly good balance of filling in the blanks to bring a reader up to speed in an organic way.
The art is above average for a typical, creator-owned series. Good coloring. Good lines. And good lettering. Some of the perspectives on the high-speed action scenes could use a little polish since you couldn’t always tell which body part was going in which direction. Overall, nice job on the art.
The biggest down point of the first two issues is the dialog. The timeframe for this story is sometime in the late Dark Ages, so there’s a manner of speaking and a vernacular that sounds authentic to that time period. Here, little snippets of conversation kept popping up that sounded very modern American/Western (e.g. “You are such a sweetheart” or “Let’s grab dinner” or “Game Over!”), and those snippets take you out of the story. The issues we received for review could greatly benefit from a dialog editor, and that’s the difference between promising and solidly good.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
We’re introduced to Vahn, a human/demon hybrid that bears a branded mark on his hand that glows with power when he’s in a fight. The power grants him extra speed and strength.
Vahn travels the Earth to take revenge on the demons who destroyed his village and find a way to remove the cursed mark so he can be with the one he loves, Sylvia.
Salvation #0
Vahn is confronted by an angry mob. They assume he’s responsible for the town’s destruction because he’s part demon. He’s forced to leave his home and his love, Sylvia, behind.
Months later, Vahn takes odd jobs and kills wayward demons as he looks for answers as to how to remove his cursed mark.
One day, he encounters a woman on a lonely road screaming for help. A hellion demon is attacking her home, and Vahn follows her to assist. Vahn defeats the demon, but he’s attacked by the family in the home when he discovers they’ve been holding secret, demonic ceremonies in their home. The daughter knocks Vahn out.
Vahn wakes up strapped to a table. The daughter is possessed by a hellion, the mother of the first hellion Vahn killer, and she wants revenge for the killing. What’s happening, which admittedly sounds convoluted, is the family tried to resurrect their dead son by calling on demonic forces with a sacrifice (Vahn). Unfortunately, the demons have been secretly duping the family to release them from the underworld through the possession of the daughter.
Admittedly, it took a couple of read-throughs to get the plot clear. The mother, the father, the daughter/demon are all adding bits of information as to who’s doing what, but it gets a bit jumbled and could use a little more clarity.
In the end, the demon realizes too late it picked the wrong sacrifice, and the family pays the heaviest price.
Salvation #1
Vahn arrives in the town of Salise to find a holy man named Solomon who can supposedly remove Vahn’s mark. The townspeople and the guards at the temple where Solomon resides shun Vahn because they can sense his demonic energy and fear he’s arrived to cause trouble.
As Vahn tries to figure out how to get into the temple to find Solomon, he’s accosted by a senior priest who challenges him to a duel. Backed into a proverbial corner, Vahn has no choice but to fight. However, Vahn gets the better of the priest but decides to let him go before dealing the killing blow.
An old man commends Vahn for his fighting skill and his show of mercy. It’s Solomon, and he offers to hear Vahn out on his request.
Solomon agrees to help Vahn find a spell to remove the cursed mark. The ritual requires Vahn to retrieve a special amulet from a nearby temple. When Vahn approaches the amulet’s location, he’s stopped by a mighty warrior, Alric. At first, Vahn and Alric draw swords over the amulet, but Solomon breaks up the fight because he’s Alric’s master. Solomon tries the removal spell with all parties on the same side, but it doesn’t work.
Suddenly, demons invade Solomon’s home looking for Vahn. The cursed mark is the symbol of Lord O’Seere, and he’s sent his demons to bring Vahn to him to be his slave. Alric fights off some of the lesser demons, and Vahn runs off to lead the rest away from Solomon. Deep in the woods, Vahn is chased down by two demon lieutenants, and a deadly two-on-one fight begins to bring Vahn before Lord O’Seere as a slave or a corpse.
How Does It End?
Vahn finds a darker power within himself. One of the lieutenants miscalculates how easy this task would be. Vahn takes a seat.
Final Thoughts
SALVATION #0/1, available now from Animation Comics Entertainment, is a promising start to a fantasy series with a big world and above-average art. Despite some mildly confusing plotting and out-of-place dialog, the overall books have a lot of potential.
Score: 8/10
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