God of War: Fallen God #1

God of War: Fallen God #1

Dark Horse Comics 2021

Written by Chris Roberson

Illustrated by Tony Parker

Coloured by Dan Jackson

Lettered by Jimmy Betancourt of Comicraft

Can a man ever be free of his past? Can the tides of time ever wash away the bloody sands of sin? Or do transpired trespasses permanently and inescapably stain one's soul? After conquering Zeus and thwarting Athena, Kratos believes himself to be finally free from his bondage. He sets sail for the desert in an attempt to distance himself from his home and his shame only to find his rage and guilt follow close behind. Kratos rages against the one foe that has proven to be unconquerable—himself. But a war against oneself is unwinnable, and only invites madness. An all-new tale, set between the events of God of War III and God of War (2018)!

While I may not be a video game person I am a fan of Chris’ and I have read some of these stories in the past and I find Kratos to be an interesting individual. The whole concept is one that lends itself to endless stories and it is great to be a comics fan and get to explore this world and Kratos himself without really worrying about whether or not i’m going to be able to follow along. If you’ve never read an issue or played the game then no worries because this is new reader friendly and everything we need to know is given to us along the way.

I am a fan of the way that this is being told. If you are going to get to a future point in time I like the way that Chris does that here and it makes sense and is handled with aplomb. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development is incredible and to see how Kratos acts and reacts to the situations and circumstances and to see what he desires and the clues to what’s to come well it shapes who he is becoming. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, the world and what is potentially in store for him well it’s an exciting time indeed.

I love Tony’s work on the interiors here. The linework that we see is stupendous and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create such beautiful detail work is pretty stunning to behold. That we see backgrounds being utilised and how they work within the composition within the panels bringing us such nice depth perception, that sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is splendid. I am incredibly impressed with the way we see the page layouts they have this amazing look to them that enhance the emotions of Kratos and how the reader sees what is happening. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is sensational. Those swords with their fire and how we see them throughout is simply stunning to see.

This is one of those books that’s timeless and every single arc can be set at any stage within Kratos’ life so the possibilities are literally endless. So to get to play around with the characterisation and watch the character get to grow and change is actually fun for me. With the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story are emerging giving us clues to what’s to come is so fantastic. The way everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is utterly delightful.

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This, all of the above, is why creators such as these are loved and admired and the stories they create get us excited to read. This is a fantastic beginning to the arc and it generates that stellar interest for what’s to come.