While the story moves forward and the format of how the story is being told makes more sense now, I still am finding it difficult to get my emotional footing. Kingsway is a killer, or at least war turned him into one, but the one thing that was keeping him human was the love of his life, his wife Sonia. Now, she’s been chased off and Kingsway and a kind of crazy guide, Zozo, along with her pet dragon are helping him find Sonia again. Even though Kingsway doesn’t want to kill, his hand is being forced and that’s drawing the attention of The United States of New York. See, this story is an alternate universe story where not everything has worked out as our own history has. Western and fantasy mythologies are shaking hands, all friendly like.

There should be joy in this idea, but the tropes are still pretty typical. I think that’s what’s hurting it most. The characters aren’t being developed beyond their very basic, instinctual motivation, and if we’re just doing your typical genre piece, I guess that’s fine. But I want more. The story breakdown at the top of the book ponders the question as to whether or not Kingsway will lose his soul while trying to find his wife, but we haven’t really even begun to dig into his soul. What does he think about this world around him other than being grumpy? What kind of life would he prefer? What kind of life does he want to build? The details are what fill in stories like this, and I’m not seeing enough to keep me interested thus far.

If you’re just looking for genre fare that thus far isn’t too challenging and is put together well enough, give it a shot. I may give it another couple of issues and will let you know.