Bahati #1 is a comic written by Lorenzo Lionheart with art by Nghia Pham. A disgraced former Queen’s guard is now out hunting cursed creatures. This is an introspective and violent tale about a woman who has fallen from glory and her battle with her past while trying to carve out her future. That woman is named Bahati, she is arguably the greatest fighter around and currently she runs with a unit that hunts these dangerous creatures. The plot follows this unit as they trail and hunt for these cursed beings while Bahati gives us glimpses of her past and what led to her becoming part of this band. The action here gives off some manga vibes and it does get nasty. This story is wonderfully paced with great balance between flashbacks and present day. The dialogue is very realistic with some good banter and it’s all understandable. Some pages do get a bit heavy with the words but it reads well and doesn’t bog the story down. This is a good debut issue about a woman searching for some sort of redemption while struggling with her past.
This comic is very well-drawn overall, with the average level of detail being pretty high. There are nice little things you’ll notice in the scenery and in close ups. The colors are varied but have a faded look to them consistent with rough living. In the present day the band moves from a forest to some mountains whereas in the past everything takes place in a palace. This comic does an average job of getting expressions across but the overwhelming look is anger-adjacent so we don’t know the full range. A quick glance at the faces might have you thinking the quality isn’t there but if you pay attention you’ll notice the smaller details that make the faces come alive. The action is tends to be bloody and gory with a mix of hand-to-hand and sword fighting. Most of the clothing here is winter wear save for one scene.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like lady-led tales dealing with past regrets and attempts at redemption involving close combat and starring a black person this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. This is a bloody and gory tale.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“No surprise there. I thought you might man up and do it.”
Digital Link: https://madcloudcomics.com/product/bahati-1/
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/madcloudcomics/bahati/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 22
Violent Pages: 9, for 41% 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 – 4
“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 – 3
“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 – 2
“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.”
