Review: Die Vol. 1- Fantasy Heartbreaker
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline is captivating all the way through. The comic’s approach to personal issues is meaningful and sets up more for the future. The comic’s world is interesting all on its own and is a unique staging ground for the narrative. The artwork is beautiful and matches the tone of the book well.
Cons: Decisions made at the volume’s conclusion feel sudden and aren’t well justified.
Overall: This is a highly positive beginning to a series that already feels addictive. It takes the creativity of the fantasy environment and pushes it to the limit, introducing clever twists on familiar concepts and depicting it all with some seriously striking visuals. It also details a journey that is enchanting to uncover and meaningful to experience. Anyone with even a passing interest in role-playing games or fantasy should consider checking this book out.
Story
Die Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen, is an excellent start to a captivating adventure in an incredible unique world. It sends a group of adults on a Jumanji-style journey that allows the reader to witness several epic encounters and more than a few compelling twists. However, this journey is also deeply personal and begins to address issues about how someone’s past can effect the person they end up becoming. All of this is then backed up by an imaginative universe that is incredible to discover and still feels ripe with potential. In the end, this comic somehow manages to be a celebration of role-playing games and fantasy while also managing to tell and incredible tale of adventure while doing so.
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The main storyline in Fantasy Heartbreaker centers around a group of adults who have been forcibly returned to a RPG-fantasy world in which they were trapped in as teenagers. Upon their arrival, they discover that their old friend has been living in this world since they originally escaped and is now forcing them to play the “game” with him once more.
Their refusal to accept this new reality drives forward their quest in this volume and their fight against their old friend’s manipulations is very exciting. The collection doesn’t revel in action and battle as much as one would expect it to but this actually works to the book’s advantage. It allows suspense and clever manipulation to take the main stage, which I found to be equally exciting.
The heroes’ journey isn’t all just sword and sorcery though, it also has a deeply personal element stretching through it. Their trip though this world of fantasy brings back many shameful and troubling elements from the group’s past, developing a theme that addresses nostalgia and the trials of growing up. There are also developing plot elements that appear to bring up the struggles of transgender and disabled people. Though the story here has only just begun, it already has a lot going for it.
Backing up this entire adventure is another big positive of the Die series, the nature of the comic book world itself. The universe of Die celebrates the traditions and archetypes of RPGs and fantasy while still managing to innovate on that very same front. One example of this can be seen in Godbinder character, who is a twist on the traditional role of the cleric; however, instead of simply praying to the gods for healing, this character barters with the gods and makes deals that come at some sort of price. A similar twist on well established elements can be seen in nearly every other characters’ role as well, making for a world that feels unique right to the core.
If there is a problem in Fantasy Heartbreaker, it would be the way in which the volume concludes. The Chuck and Isabelle’s sudden decision to abandon their journey home feels like it comes out of nowhere, especially since they had agreed to the plan only moments beforehand. A little more time spent foreshadowing this decision or at least indicating it may be a possibility would have given the twist a bit more credence.
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Art
The artwork in Fantasy Heartbreaker is flat out gorgeous on just about every page. Stephanie Hans carefully crafts a the world of Die in a way that gives everything and everyone a distinct personality. You can instantly see Chuck’s swagger or Ash’s leadership without having to read even a single word of dialogue or narration. This extends to the worlds of Die as well, with different color palates and subtle artistic differences giving each landscape a different mood and personality. The visuals here really bring this fantasy world to life in a big way.
Hans’s art also works as a great complement to the storytelling in Fantasy Heartbreaker. The action in this volume typically plays out in a way that places less emphasis on the minutia of an encounter and instead places it on the outcome. Meaning that instead of seeing two characters trade blows over the course of a few pages, the action here is crystallized into a single shot that completely sums up the battle. This makes for a couple of visually striking moments and also suits the book’s RPG roots. In the end, I couldn’t imagine anyone else handling the art for this series.
Continuity
Die Vol. 1 is the first volume in a brand new comic series and has no connections to previously existing comics.
The story here continues in Die Vol. 2.