“Some of us believe this world must be cleansed of filthy magic.” The words that Owlslin Captain Shanora Zel spoke in the snow hills of Ataraxy still burn hot in her mind as she recovers from her brutal fight with Elodie and plots to avenge the Tiger Fang Enchantress, Feng Po.
What I thoroughly enjoyed about this issue is that it’s largely told from the perspective of one of the villains/antagonists from the previous series. The series writer Markisan Naso flexes his creative muscles and has you empathizing with Shanora Zel by the end of the issue – will you root for her as much as Elodie and the rest of the eclectic cast of characters we’ve been following since By The Horns #1? No, probably not, because we’ve nearly a dozen issues with those folks, but you definitely get an understanding of Shanora Zel, and you can’t help but understand where her mind is at. By The Horns: Dark Earth #4 serves almost as an interlude to the series because of its focus on Shanora Zel, emphasizing the length of our main characters’ journey across the ocean, but it’s also another layer to the story being woven by Naso and artist Jason Muhr, and one that’s bound to pay off in the next couple of issues.
This isn’t the most action packed issue of the series, instead the pages being dedicated to fleshing out the character of Shanora Zel, explaining certain choices that are made (this is a really vague way to avoid spoilers, because the reveal wasn’t entirely unsurprising but nonetheless fantastically done), with her story and motivation mirroring Elodie’s. I’m not going to call this a fill in issue, because it’s far from it, but it is a nice interlude to the main story. And it’s an interlude that actually drives the story forward.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you REALLY can’t go wrong with this series; it’s so much fun – and yet emotionally heavy at the same time.
Story: Markisan Naso Art/Lettering: Jason Muhr Colors: Steve Cannon
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy
Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review. Alex also purchased a physical copy of all comics/trades referenced within the review.
Purchase: Scout Comics – Zeus Comics
Source: Graphic Policy
