Ruination #6 is a comic written by Ryan Bis with line art by Sarah Fletcher and colors by Kaytee Brown. In this thick installment we hear arguments, learn backstories, and witness clashes. We get some more groundwork laid and a deeper understanding of the various characters’ motivations. In this world there is a brewing conflict between two groups of people: The Fallen and the Saldyrians. The main cast is barely uneven with representatives from both groups. Keila, Dante, and Jalen are the focus this time around and they spill all the beans. The plot has our motley crew traveling towards New Saldyria and discussing what to do next with the occasional flashback. This comic is relatively light on action with some blood being shed but nothing off-putting. The pacing is a bit fast as the jump between certain panels will leave you questioning how they got there, and this will happen more than a few times. The dialogue is all easy to understand  but man there can be a lot of it. When Keila talks, she TALKS. But the wordier pages are balanced by the high number of pages with little to say. This is an issue that fills in any gaps the story might have had and prepares for the next phase of this series.

            This is a very colorful comic with some nice work done on the backgrounds that appear to be teeming with life. The bulk of this story takes place in a bustling forest with a steep cliff and some ruins adding to the landscape. Due to this issue being pretty talk-heavy it is almost necessary that they have the expressions to go along with the words; this comic does an alright job at that. There is room for improvement but we can understand what the characters are feeling pretty broadly with the way they look, as the faces here have just enough detail to properly emote. I wouldn’t say there is a face sameness problem here, I’d say it is a head shape similarity issue. But it is not severe. While do see some magic in and out of combat the main weapon used in combat is a sword. The action is very to-the-point with precise strikes and sure movements, and you will see some blood. There is absolutely no sexualization going on.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like large mixed gender casts with the odds stacked against them in a fantasy world with magic on display and multiple goals this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Death and blood.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I just can’t reconcile what you’ve told me with what I know to be true.”

 

Physical Link: https://www.cpcomics.com/shop/p/ruination-1-physical-main-rio-burton-cover-jz8pg-5b222-pjtwn-zzsxw-7dcmn

Digital Link: https://www.cpcomics.com/shop/p/ruination-6-digital

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/curiousp/ruination-1-6/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 32

Violent Pages: 11, for 34% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 3

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”