ATG Comic Review: Sword Master #1

So guess what everyone? If you just said that All Things Geek comic reviews are back then you’d be absolutely correct! I know we’ve been gone for a while, but we are now trying to get back into the swing of things so be ready to see more coming out from us. Also, be sure to subscribe to our blog so you can always know when we have new reviews or anything else being posted!

This week we have two comics we are going to review for you. Both of them come to us this week from Vibranium Comics and Games in Ocala Florida. Vibranium is located right down the street from the local college so in a perfect place for all you geeks that need a break from the school books and want to hit the comic books instead. Be sure to click the banner below to be taken to their facebook page and see what types of events they may have going on!

This week our first comic to review is the first issue of Sword Master. Right off the bat this has a very Anime look and feel to it. Now before I get into things about the story, I want to get my biggest gripe out in the open right away. While I enjoyed the story as it was put forth it seemed to me that we were missing something somewhere. At the end of the book, there was a little one shot that makes me think that Sword Master may have started in another series where Shang Chi Master of Kung Fu may have its home, though since I don’t read those comics I’m not sure where this would be. However, in the second little story, you see the main character come to America to look for information about the whereabouts of his missing father and Shang Chi finds him and it’s made known that Shang Chi knows the kid and knows about his family and his sword. This all points to the beginnings of this story having been done somewhere else, which is a shame because it could have cleared up many questions that arose in the first story in the book.

The first part of this book is the setup for our lead character to start his adventure to find his father. It all starts with a dream about a magic sword which just so happens to be on his wall in real life and which his father had sent him from an archeological site somewhere. Seems this isn’t the first time the kid has had this dream which shows him using the sword to fight a demon. When he wakes up his best friend is there and lets him know that he may have found some people who know where the kids father is. Now maybe I need to reread the comic but right now I can’t remember how the friend found this out or maybe it wasn’t said but it kinda bugged me that they found these people who supposedly were there when the dad disappeared. So the kid goes to find them and pays these tomb robber types to tell him what they know of his dad’s disappearance. The thugs tell him how they beat the guy up but then there was this big supernatural type thing that happened and they ran off leaving the kids dad behind as well as telling him that the place was evil and that the kid would most likely be taking his life in his own hands if he went there. You know typical adventure and horror story type of fare. Now of course it seems like the kid is going to go as he books a flight somewhere and before you can say “wow that was short” the story ends.

Well I guess he actually went to America as there is then a small little story where he is now in America threatening someone with a giant magical sword looking for more information about where his father is. As I said earlier Shang Chi finds his way into this story but the jump between the two stories kinda leaves you feeling like you missed something somewhere. Especially when you’ve never seen Sword Master before and suddenly Shang Chi’s all “Hey you should have told me you were coming here” and obviously knows him. This second story really didn’t progress the story line either except to setup a baddy for later. This made the second story feel like it was just thrown together because they weren’t sure how else to introduce the bad guy and were just tossing ideas against the wall to see what would stick.

All in all, I found the story kinda lacking. I think they could do better with it and I am curious to see if they do hit a better stride later on. What I did LOVE about it, however, was the artwork for the first story. The first part of the book had a very Manga feel to the artwork and should appeal visually to those fond of Manga and Anime. If they can get the story on par with the art then I think this could be on par with some of the better Manga’s out there. One failing in the art was that the second story went back to a more typical comic feel. It was still good but it lacked the Manga flair.

So would you guys buy this book? If you already have do you agree with this review? Sound off below to let us know your thoughts, we love hearing from you! Also if you love our reviews and other blogs and want to support us feel free to go to Ko-fi.com/Thalra and give us a tip. Every donation we get will go towards purchasing either something to make the site better or something to review for the site!