If you don’t know this about me, I LOVE the Barbaric universe. Over the past few years, Michael Moreci and Vault have built one of the most interesting and captivating worlds from scratch that I can remember. From BARBARIC #1 to QUEEN OF SWORDS #1, I’ve loved every story, every character, every blood-thirsty sword. The joyride keeps on chugging along with this week’s release of QUEEN OF SWORDS #2, which continues the journey of Serra, Ka, and Deadheart. Moreci has shown he’s a master at adventure fantasy and this newest tale may be one of his best yet. Paired with Corin Howell’s wonderful art, K.J. Díaz’s brilliant colors, and Jim Campbell’s lettering, the combined creative team has produced another issue that visually captures the genre perfectly.

Issue #2 picks up where we left off previously as our trio travels deeper into the Pestilent Lands. Moreci nicely balances character development (between Serra and Ka), action (Deadheart and Ga’Bar get to have some fun), and backstory (we learn more about Serra and Soren’s past) throughout the book. It’s really nice to see a female-forward book include dialogue which continuously passes the Bechdel Test. For being only two issues in, Serra and Ka’s relationship feels like it’s been developing for much longer and it’ll be interesting to see where these two end at the end of the next issue, which is also this arc’s finale. Deadheart and Ga’Bar have an hysterical relationship and their interactions together are the highlight of the issue for me. There will never be too many foul-mouthed, blood-thirsty weapons in the Barbaric universe for me.

The art in this book continues to be fantastic — characters are well drawn, the evil monster designs are distinct and feel menacing, and the action sequences come to life in all their bloody, violent goodness. A visual representation of Serra using her chains happens multiple times throughout the book and I was still in awe how they appeared to fly across the pages each time they appeared. Campbell’s lettering approach deserves a ton of credit for helping to keep the book neatly organized as there were no less than four different fonts used to represent different types of dialogue. Each one was recognizable from the other and you always knew who was talking or narrating.

QUEEN OF SWORDS #2 is another perfect issue that continues to highlight why Vault trusts Moreci and is investing so much into this universe. My only complaint is that this story has to end.

Rating: 10/10