In my high school days, I read a fair amount of fantasy fiction, much of it from then-TSR writers like Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman and R.A. Salvatore. A gaming geek at heart, I still hold Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy in pretty high regard, and though my taste for fantasy novels (and fantasy in general) has waned a bit, I have to admit to being more than a little curious about his foray into comics with his new novel property DemonWars. The first story, a little ditty about barbarians, priests, giants and dwarves, with a demon thrown in to boot, reads a little like "generic fantasy" at times but is a pretty good yarn if you're into that sort of thing, and Ron Wagner's art reproduces pretty well at the Traveler size. Certainly not for everyone, but given the dearth of straight fantasy, particularly mass-market color fantasy, that's out there in comics, I can definitely see a niche that this book could fill.
I'm always wary of adaptations to other media, especially when the writer himself isn't the guy at the helm, but I've heard that Salvatore was fairly deeply involved in DemonWars: Trial By Fire, and one need only compare the prose fiction in the back of this edition to the story to see that this is true. Honestly, the setting that Salvatore uses for the short story, telling of an alliance between pirates of the human and dwarven variety, is one that interests me more than the savage frontier setting that fits the rest of the story, but at any rate, the same love of setting and fantasy names and geography shines through in both stories.
While "Three Ships" (the prose story) is a bit of a tragedy and a character development tool for Powrie (dwarf) character Grave Mungo, the lead story is more of an epic heroic story about two outcasts from their respective societies working together to bring them together and defeat a larger evil. Cliched? Sure, but not obnoxiously so, and Ciencin does give the story a darkness that is not common in this type of epic fiction. In addition, his cast of characters is delightfully gray in their moral outlooks, whether it's the brutish Alpinadoran (viking) chief who took pleasure in slaughtering a pregnant giantess, the Powrie Grave Mungo who develops a sudden interest in a human woman and pursues his own agenda or the ranger Andacanavar who has a savagery and disdain for others about him as well as a strong heroic streak.
You may note above that I can indicate elements of these characters with shortcuts. Salvatore has created an interesting world in DemonWars, but it's not shockingly different from other fantasy worlds from what I see in this volume. New names and little touches make them different, but it's still essentially the same dwarves, elves, rangers, etc. that J.R.R. Tolkien set down in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, the familiarity is pleasant especially in this context, as it allows Ciencin to spend a lot less time explaining every little race and political history and get down into character development and plot movement. In addition, Salvatore has tweaked elements of the characters, with the "red cap" tradition of the Powries making them a more evil race than your average dwarves as well as touching on another mythology, and while the view of rangers as outsiders isn't unusual, having the Alpinadorans view them as demon-tainted certainly is. And while the prose story is more overtly tragic, the comic story is no bed of roses for the hero, with an intriguing dramatic price for the heroes' victory.
Much of the credit for the darker tone of the book and distinctive designs of the characters must also go to Ron Wagner and Caesar Rodriguez. Wagner's work is nowhere near as flashy as Crossgen mainstays Greg Land or Jim Cheung, but the lack of spectacular splash pages is made up for with solid character work and a great sense of character, both in the backgrounds and the people populating the book. There are also some terrific action sequences that seem like they're pulled right out of a big-budget blockbuster, including the scene where Moira defeats a demon minion with rather explosive results or the climactic battle against the giants.
This trade paperback is in Crossgen's new "Traveler" format, which means it's roughly manga size, but it clocks in about $3 higher than their usual Travelers, which I take to be licensing fees or the fact that it hasn't been reprinted in a full-size trade previously. Whatever the case, the price ($13) still isn't bad, especially when you consider a new prose story and introduction from a well-liked fantasy author as well as extra touches like a Ron Wagner sketchbook, and I would urge fantasy fans to give this one a look.
