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Hack, slash and.. heal?

Amongst comic books, family teams are rare. The Romitas, Kessels, Kuberts and the Simonsons probably stand out as the most widely recognized family names in comic books.  Last week’s review actually included a husband/wife team (Mat and Wendy Broome) and this week I picked up The Sword #8. The Luna Brothers, Jonathan and Joshua, created, wrote and drew The Sword.  I know I could never work with my sibling, so I find it intriguing how well they pull off the book.

From what I can tell of the story, since there seems to be no ‘in previous issues page’, The Sword revolves around a sword (imagine that!).  The sword appears to be an ancient weapon, which can both heal and harm.  The wielder chosen to hunt down a man who has lived for over 4000 years and end his life with the sword, the only weapon on Earth that can harm him.  The main character, Dara, apparently disabled until she found the sword and has learned the whereabouts of the immortal, Zakros, from following stories her father told his students. This issue picks up with them landing on Nassau, Zakros last known location and beginning the hunt.

The Luna brothers tell an interesting tale. The idea of an ancient enemy and only one weapon can harm him, while not exactly the newest concept, told in this way knocks some of the dust off.  The storytelling gave me a feeling of tension the whole time.  The pacing danced perfectly with the artwork and clean graphical style of the coloring.  I never felt rushed throughout the story and the scattered bits of past and exposition only reinforced the story. I actually began to wonder if Zakros even counted a bad guy.  Then he went and eloquently chopped a hooker’s head off while soliloquizing about being alone.

Jonathan’s art holds up throughout the book. Crisp and clean, with excellent coloring.  I find it interesting that Joshua apparently did the layouts for the book while Jonathan did the art. It shows a real collaborative spirit between the brothers and gives me a vision of two people working across the table from each other making a comic.  I wonder how rarely you would find that in today’s industry.  Clearly, they enjoy working this way as this marks the third book they put out together under the Image label.  (Ultra and Girl if you feel up to checking out their other work).

The Sword, while I feel this issue was the breather between the action, entertained me.  I could feel the tension slowly rising throughout the issue leading up to the end, setting up for the conflict in the next issue.  Good art and good storytelling, I think the book is worth a look and this issue seems like a good jumping on point. 

The Sword #8
Story, Illustrations, Book Design: Jonathan Luna
Story, Script, Layouts, Letters: Joshua Luna

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