BARBARIC: THE HARVEST BLADES ONE-SHOT / Script by MICHAEL MORECI/ Art by ROBERT WILSON IV/ Colors by ADDISON DUKE/ Color Assists by ANDREW MISISCO/ Letters by JIM CAMPBELL/ Published by VAULT COMICS

Legends are told of the warrior Owen and the cursed Axe that forces him to kill only in the name of righteous causes and in answer to any call for help. Such a call is brought before him by the arrogant Knights of Docimel, who are too proud to address the dark magic that threatens their land themselves. Alas, Axe decrees that people being lazy jerks is not sufficient reason to ignore a call to action, or kill them. Thankfully, the quest does have perks, such as a pretty young thief with her own unique weapons…

The original Barbaric mini-series from 2021 was rightly praised as a satiric masterpiece of the sword-and-sorcery genre. The Harvest Blades, which is billed as the first in a series of one-shots that will expand the world of Barbaric before the second volume starts, proves a perfect follow-up to the first book. Much like the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard, Michael Moreci’s tales of Owen are episodic and it is unclear if this tale is a prequel or a sequel to the original. It matters, little, however, for this story stands apart from the original while containing the same twisted humor that made Barbaric a hit with fantasy fans.

The artwork by Robert Wilson IV is distinctive from that of Nathan Gooden, but it captures he essence of the world quite well. The action is as bloody as one would expect and it took me a while to realize that not all of the original team had returned for this volume. A large part of this is due to the distinctive neon coloring of Addison Duke and the lettering of Jim Campbell.

Barbaric is back and as great as ever. If you missed out on the original series, you would do well to grab this one-shot and see what you’ve been missing. This is a fine bit of fantasy, with swords, sorcery and satire.

Barbaric: The Harvest Blades One-Shot releases on July 13, 2022.