The World Ends In Fire #1 is a comic written by DC Horn with art by Brendan Albetski. A ragtag group head out on a mission to retrieve something. This is a supernatural comic with fantasy elements that stars a quartet with different abilities. The first member we see is Warcott, he is a large armored man who is very tough. Asterisk is a man with magic abilities who dresses like a robed mage. Next we have 84, she is tall and thin with horns coming out of her head and she is very quick. Last we have Phil, he is a skeleton. The story begins with this group riding across a barren desert in a car that has its top down and stopping at a cave. They hop out of the vehicle, look over the map, and just as they enter the cave they hear a loud roar. This takes place in a world that seems to be a lot like earth but with some significant changes. The violence here is physical but does get a bit gory. The pacing here is between fast and steady with a casual tone that can get serious. There are many intense moments due to violence and danger. The dialogue is conversational with some back-and-forth. There are no word-heavy pages but many if not all are word-light. This is an exciting debut issue that gives us an interesting cast in a simple story that ends in a cliffhanger that’ll leave you with questions.

            The art here is very detailed and stylized with a semi-cartoonish look to it. The colors here are all over the place and taken from the psychedelic palette with some notable lighting. For scenery all we get are long stretches of desert with a few mountains up close and some in the distance.  The main location is the cave where their mission is but outside of that they are usually in their car, which is stylish and has the top down. The backgrounds sometimes show the surroundings but are frequently a combo of multiple colors. The expression level here is low as these characters very rarely move beyond their resting face. There are a couple shocked and fearful looks but that is about it. Most of the expression is done with the eyes as Asterisk is the only one with his face uncovered, but the different looks usually come across clearly. The violence is physical with a gruesome attack that leads to gore. The action scenes generally flow well but it is possible to get confused.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like supernatural comics with fantasy elements that stars a unique, multi-skilled group and features violence then this is for you.

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

R. Violence, gore.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I have only one question for you beast!”

 

Physical Link: https://www.xancononline.com/product-page/the-world-ends-in-fire-issue-1

Digital Link: https://www.xancononline.com/product-page/the-world-ends-in-fire-1-pdf

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xanatopia1/the-world-ends-in-fire-issue-1/description

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

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 26

Violent Pages: 6, for 23% 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 – 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.”