Owen helps his barbarian friend Steel by defeating the vampire lord that holds him in thrall. But when Steel also tells him that Gladius, the orc warlord, is back, what will Owen do? Find out in Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 from Vault Comics!

BARBARIC: AXE TO GRIND #1

Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Adrian F. Wassel
Publisher: Vault Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 17, 2022

Previously in Barbaric: Owen is a barbarian. But after years of fighting, drinking, and more fighting, he has become cursed. His curse is that he must go good until the end of his life. If someone needs help, he must help them, guided by his trusty weapon, Axe. Axe is talkative, bloodthirsty, and gets drunk on blood. Their last adventure led them to help the witch, Soren, and she now travels with them. But when an old barbarian friend asks for help, Owen has no choice but to do so.

ONE GOOD DEED LEADS TO ANOTHER

Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 opens in the middle of a fight. Owen yells at his former friend, Steel, for not telling them what they were getting into. Steel insists that when he said, “a bunch of giant vampires,” this is exactly what he meant – a bunch of giants who are also vampires. Meanwhile, Axe is eager to get his teeth into the fight, right up until the moment he does so. Vampire blood is not tasty like regular blood; it tastes rotten. Steel asked for help because he has been enthralled to the vampire lord and he wants to be free. All that requires is killing the vampire lord.

Easier said than done. The fighting and the killing continue, despite Axe’s plaintive cries of “I don’t wanna!” which were very amusing. Axe then gets stuck in a spine and cannot work free until a giant vampire falls on him and Owen. Several moments are quite funny even while they are quite bloody.

The vampire lord grabs Soren, covering her mouth to stop her spells. With a snap of her fingers, he is stabbed by several blades. He is weak and motionless; Steel can kill him. Except that he just…cannot. He is still a thrall. Owen and Axe kill the lord…and Steel is still a vampire. Soren explains that while there is some curse involved, it mainly is a bloodborne disease.

Owen wonders what giants were doing so far out of their home territory. Steel drops the bombshell that Gladius, the orc warlord they have some history with, has returned. This bothers Owen, and Soren prods him into telling her more. She reassures him that he does not have to go after Gladius, but he feels he must. Gladius was the first truly evil being he ever encountered.

The fastest way to reach Gladius is by sea, where we rapidly find out that Axe can get seasick. Or perhaps he is still hungover from so much blood. And Steel is reunited with his sword, but still feels like a has-been. Their captain, Crumm, feels a vibration in the ship. A whale breaches nearby, a lovely moment, at least until a tentacle appears, closely followed by the rest of the kraken.

FROM LAND TO SEA

The art of Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 is stylized to some degree which gives it a flavor all its own. The character work is great, but I really love the use of positive and negative space to keep the action clear and flowing, as well as color. The opening sequence alone uses this to introduce Owen, Axe, and Steel. We get clear close-ups of each of them despite the mayhem that surrounds them. Another terrific use of this is when Soren attacks a giant. Her magic cannot kill one outright, but she uses it to a foot-wide chunk of flesh from its legs. The art sets off the area where the lower leg bones are visible with no supporting flesh around them, and in the next panel, they crack.

I love the depiction of their time on the ship. The establishing shot is almost like a woodcut, using the outlines of the ocean waves to suggest their depth and turbulence. Layers of color add dimension that goes back to the sky and clouds. We also get a sense of scale. The ship is big enough to sail on the ocean, but that mean it is not small compared to the water. Everyone looks windswept and we can practically feel the dampness. It is a terrific set up for seeing the whale, and when the kraken arrives, we immediately know how immense and dangerous it is.

BOTTOM LINE: A GREAT PLACE TO GET TO KNOW BARBARIC

Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 is bloody, exciting, fun, and a good place to jump in. Owen and Axe give a whole new dimension to being a barbarian, with fighting now being more of an obligation for him but balanced out by Axe’s desire for blood.

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