William of Newbury #1 – 9.0

I’m absolutely loving this story so far – William is an instantly fun and quirky character and I can’t wait to see where his travels take him.

Cover of "William of Newbury" comic book. A raccoon in wizard robes holds a red staff, standing on a hill with gravestones. A green, skeletal figure hovers in the background. Title and author names are shown. — Art by Michael Oeming from darkhorse.com

Publishing Information
Writer: Michael Avon Oeming
Artists: Michael Avon Oeming
Release Date: July 31, 2024
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

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Art

Line Quality	4
Color	5
Emotion	4
Composition	5

Story

Characters	5
Action	5
Cohesion	5
Fun	5

Print

Paper	3
Construction	3
Editing	5
Advertisements	5

Art

Michael Oeming does a fantastic job with the art in this book. The lines are a little ‘scratchy’ to me, but that may be a design choice. I love the contrasting color between the GLOWING spirits and the dark and dingy dungeons. The ‘water color’ style coloring looks really great on the front cover.

A comic page featuring four panels. The first panel shows a raccoon wearing a black robe holding a torch. The second close-up panel shows the raccoon's face with a surprised expression. The third panel reveals a ghostly figure with a skull head descending in front of the raccoon. The final panel depicts a fierce lion-like ghost with glowing eyes emerging from green smoke. Dialogue includes the raccoon speaking and the ghostly figures addressing the raccoon. — Art by Michael Oeming from darkhorse.com

A comic page featuring anthropomorphic animals. The sequence shows a tense encounter between william the raccoon and an otter. In the final panels, robed figures are seen interrogating someone suspended from the ceiling. — _{Art by Michael Oeming from darkhorse.com}

Caution tape with "Warning! Spoilers below!" warning the reader that if they continue to read they may encounter spoilers.

Story

We start off issue one meeting William in the middle of an exorcism; Oeming does a great job here of starting us off with some action, which captures the reader and quickly grabs their attention.

We quickly see that there’s some comedy in the book when William timidly enters the basement and stumbles upon the ghostly beast:

“I was afraid an actual MAN was down here, trying to frighten Lord Owain out of his tower. Maybe even with a DOG!….. But you’re just a beast of Satan, and I’m going to kick you back into the pit you came from!” – William of Newbury #1

It’s hilarious to me that William was terrified that it might be a man or a dog, but when he finds out it’s “just a beast of Satan” – he is so calm and collected. This will be a theme throughout the first issue as we learn more about our heroic monk friend.

I don’t want to give away the entire issue, be sure to pick it up and read it yourself! If you like anthropomorphs, or fantasy, I would definitely suggest checking it out!

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