After his early stint on the comic spinoff of the Exalted roleplaying game and the success of his acclaimed fantasy semi-parody “Skullkickers,” it was only a matter of time before Jim Zub was picked up for another comic spinoff of a roleplaying game. This time around, the lucky winner is Paizo’s fan-favorite Pathfinder, based on the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Be warned: severe nerding out happens in the following review, but what room do you have to talk, dear reader? You like comics!
Written by Jim Zub
Illustrated by Andrew HuertaPaizo’s incredible award-winning, best-selling fantasy world, fiction line and tabletop RPG is now the ultimate fantasy comic from Dynamite Entertainment!
Valeros can rely on only his sword arm and his friends, the mysterious and beautiful sorcerer Seoni and silver tongued quick-witted elven rogue Merisiel, but nothing can prepare him for the dangers that lurk ahead. The scattered and chaotic goblin tribes of Varisia are changing, growing in power and unifying in ways no one has ever seen before. At the heart of this strange evolution is an ancient evil looking to establish itself anew.
The iconic heroes at the core of the Pathfinder’s world are brought to life for the first time in a brand new story full of charm and high adventure that will please fans and entertain new readers alike. Issue 1 clocks in at 40 pages (and remains $3.99) and includes over 10 pages of character profiles and Pathfinder RPG game statistics, plus an EXCLUSIVE removable, playable tactical map and poster.
While we would like to think that we live in a world where every comic reader gives every comic by an up and coming writer a chance, no matter whether it’s creator-owned or licensed, odds are likely that the majority of readers who pick up “Pathfinder” are going to have either played a game of the Pathfinder roleplaying game, or are at least going to be familiar with the game. Jim Zub, though, is able to use this to his advantage; if his “Skullkickers” is a Dungeons & Dragons game gone off the rails, Zub’s take on “Pathfinder” reads like the ideal first session of a game of… well, Pathfinder. Just look at it plot-wise: the party is given their adventure hook while on the road, goes into town to find out more, gets in a bar brawl on the way, and then goes off to find the source of said hook, with the issue ending on a cliffhanger before inevitable action and imminent violence. Ask anyone who has played a game of Pathfinder, D&D, or most any other fantasy/action roleplaying game, and they’ll agree that this is one of the most standard formats for an opening session. This isn’t to say that Zub is at all unimaginative; it’s a standard because it works, and in this case it works just as well for the reader of a comic as it would for the players of a game. Lets go through it step by step: first, the readers are pulled in by a cold open on action just as well as any player who wants to get straight to hacking and slashing; then, just as the players would use the opportunity of the bar scene to flesh out their characters through their dialogue and action, Zub uses the scene to give his readers a feel for what the characters he is using are like; finally, like any good gamemaster trying to keep his characters excited for the next session, Zub leaves his readers on a note that should have them coming back to the next issue. While every medium has its own bells and whistles, the key elements of good storytelling are universally applicable, and Zub is able to use the roleplaying source of this licensed comic as a springboard for tight plotting, rather than as a gimmick.
As such, while Pathfinder and other roleplaying veterans may get a bit nostalgic when reading this comic, there is nothing about the comic that would put off readers who have never come anywhere close to a twenty-sided die. Like his “Skullkickers,” the mood of the comic is relatively light, and though Zub’s tongue is not pressed quite as firmly against his cheek, quips flow just as readily as blows. Right from the start, Zub is starting off with a rather full cast of characters, and for the most part, everyone gets their fair share; sure, this first issue does not give an in-depth treatise on the inner machinations of each protagonist, but what first issue does? We learn about each character through their dialogue as much as their actions, and are given enough to get the basics of who they are and what they are like. The only moment that the comic seems at all contrived or heavy-handed in its exposition is the introduction of the cleric Kyra, a scene that could probably have been reduced from two pages to one and presented in a way that screams “Remember me, I’m going to be back!” a little bit less. The action scenes are very well scripted, managing to be exciting and fun without necessarily being funny; this distinction is key, as this minor difference that can make a book like “Skullkickers” great can be harmful to a book that is similar in most matters beyond a minor difference in tone. All in all, the writing has everything one would want from a fantasy/action comic, licensed or not — not that this comes as any surprise.
Continued belowThe official art for the Pathfinder roleplaying game is notably “busy;” every character is adorned with multiple weapons and trinkets, and the various objects are almost never utilitarian and simple in design, and artist Andrew Huerta fits well into this brand’s style. Every panel is jam-packed with lines, and while Huerta’s art might not have the “clean” look of Paizo’s product, it works much better as a comic than the normal aesthetic would. The stylization brings a vibrancy and energy to nearly every panel, but that life doesn’t come without a bit of sloppiness. For every panel that elicits a “That’s what I’m talking about!” — and there are quite a few — there are just as many that are difficult to read. It would be one thing if these only happened in action scenes, furthering the chaos and confusion that goes hand-in-hand with battle, but there are a few panels where it is mind-wracking to figure out who is talking to who; an effect that might be used intentionally once in a blue moon, but that is almost certainly not the intent here. Huerta has the potential to be the ideal artist for this comic — his style is pitch-perfect for a fantasy comic, and when his storytelling is clear, his action scenes are fantastic — but before he receives that accolade, he needs to make sure that his sequences are always clear. Since there are many pages in the comic that read very well, it obviously isn’t that Huerta can’t do this already; all he needs is a little bit more spot-checking to make sure that every page is as good as those solid ones that are in this issue.
“Pathfinder” may primarily attract fans of the titular roleplaying game, as well as other pen and paper lines, but it is sure to be a success among any other fans of fantasy who are willing to look past the fact that it’s a licensed property they are unfamiliar with. Jim Zub and Andrew Huerte work very well together, and while it may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to the action/fantasy genre, it reinforces why we’ve been rolling on that same wheel for so long. What’s important is that the story is enjoyable, and that the characters entertain (check and check). And, besides: for all of its hilarious qualities, Zub’s “Skullkickers” seemed to be firmly rooted in fantasy conventions in the first few issues. Have you been reading the current arc? Who’s to say that “Pathfinder” won’t go through a similar spin? We’re only one issue in, folks — bring on the rest.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy it!
