Dark Souls #1 is the start of a new series written by George Mann and published by Titan Comics. It’s set in the same world as the hit video game series of the same name but features an original canon story centered around Fira, a knight searching for the first of many items necessary to achieve salvation. It opens up with Fira having a vision of her family turning into the Undead only to be awoken by Aldrich, the scryer of Harrowmark aiding her on her quest. She’s startled by his arrival but he shows her a trinket she gave him as a sign that she could trust him. She doesn’t remember much about her life due to a curse and her memories fade more each day. But she does recall that her current quest with the guidance of Aldrich is to enter the labyrinth to hunt a baron and recover the tooth of Andolus. Aldrich warns her that it won’t be an easy quest because their target will fight to the death to retain it. They make an agreement that Aldrich would leave most of the fighting to Fira since she’s trained, but it’s not only the physical threats they have to consider. Can Fira really trust Aldrich or does he have an ulterior motive? And can Fira truly save the land of Ishra?

There’s a synopsis at the start of the issue detailing how the Baron Karamas sought to cure his own affliction by hunting Andolus, the Wyrm King.  A sickness spread across the land of Ishra and the Baron’s belief was that if he slew the Wyrm King then its dying breath would cure him of this affliction. However, he would learn that the cost of killing the dragon would mean darkness would spread throughout the land due to the Flame that kept it bright dwindling. If you’ve played Dark Souls then you’ll be able to follow this synopsis easily and the context of the accompanying story. If this is your first experience with the mythology it’s just a matter of getting past the initial terminology and names because then it becomes a more personal story with an engaging character. Fira’s vision of her family gave an immediate understanding of what was at stake on a personal level and in the land as a whole. And her struggle with the curse and losing herself made that easy to understand as well.

SUMMARY

Dark Souls #1 is an entertaining start to the series introducing an intriguing character while exploring familiar themes from the Dark Souls mythology. After the initial synopsis the story is engaging and easy to follow with Fira’s quest being both personal and heroic. The artwork at times is bright for a Dark Souls series but it works mostly due to the graphic splash pages detailing the action sequences. The story progress makes me feel better about the series going forward and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Fira and Aldrich.

Release Date: 4/20/16
Writer: George Mann
Artist: Alan Quah