Advance Review: Owen, Soren & Axe Return in Barbaric: Wrong Kind of Righteous
Barbaric: Wrong Kind of Righteous is a double-sized one-shot written by Michael Moreci and Nicholas Eames, with art by Nathan Gooden and Addison Duke, and lettering by Jim Campbell set within Vault Comics’ Barbaric Universe which first premiered in the original Barbaric series by Moreci, Gooden, and Duke. The special issue follows characters from the main series, including Owen, a barbarian who is cursed to do good with what remains of his life, Axe, his blood-thirsty axe with the world’s biggest potty mouth, and Soren, a powerful witch.
The world of Barbaric is full of gory violence and some NSFW humor, and Wrong Kind of Righteous is no exception. The story is full of over-the-top action sequences, as well as some genuinely hysterical moments, mostly stemming from hilarious dialogue from Owen and/or Axe. Eames and Moreci’s script does well to keep our main characters true to their prior selves which makes this one-shot a must-read for fans of any previous Barbaric series. Owen and Axe are a delectable duo and I love seeing them in new adventures.
For a confined story, Eames and Moreci also do a spectacular job introducing a new villain, Sir Borys the Righteous Paladin, who is determined to rid the world of evil along with his own talking weapon, the not-so-bloodthirsty Flail. Unfortunately, Borys’ definition of evil is a bit questionable, at best. He’s built up as a proper baddie throughout and you’ll definitely want him to be held accountable by the end of the story. It’s really a great job by the writing duo to have created such a believable and villain worthy of hatred in so few pages.
As in every Barbaric book, the art in Wrong Kind of Righteous is top-notch and perfectly matches the tone of the story. Gooden’s designs and Duke’s colors are stylish and detailed. The action sequences are particularly well-drawn, particularly a two-page spread early in the book that features Owen and Axe in all their bloody glory. This artistic team knows how to make a book bloody and violent without making it seem like you’re watching torture porn. The also make Sir Borys an intimidating and haunting figure with his maniacal expressions and color palette. Campbell’s lettering ties it all together perfectly with an approach to text that makes every bit of text appear seamlessly integrated into the rest of the visuals.
Barbaric: Wrong Kind of Righteous is a wonderfully fun, funny, and action-packed comic that is sure to please Barbaric fans, but also serves as a great jumping on point to the sprawling universe for new fans. My only complaint is that we don’t get more just yet!
Rating: 10/10
