REVIEW: Green Valley #1

Writer and Creator: Max Landis

Pencil: Guiseppe Camuncoli

Inker: Cliff Rathburn

Colorist: Jean Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Review: Art Bee

Image seems to have been pumping out some great hits over the last couple of years, but I am not sure if Green Valley is one of them. It is a medieval fantasy-style story with knights and barbarians galore. This team has done some things well and others not so well. This polarity is literal as the first half of the comic book is horrible and the second half is amazing. I will sum up the story plot then let’s look at these halves.

Bertwald, Ralphus, Gulliver, and Indrid meet with Barbarian Lord Brutus Gargus on a battlefield. The four humiliate the Barbarian Lord and make the army retreat. This seems to be the one mistake that begins it all as the cover states, or it may be them letting their guard down, for Brutus will come for revenge.

 

The first half of the comic, from the start to the late night picnic, is slow, awkward, and trite. At the very beginning there is a conversation between Ralphus and Bertwald that is meant to be sarcastic and funny, but instead it comes across as trivial and uninteresting. Almost the entire story, up to Bertwald and Amalia’s picnic, is worthless aside from introducing the characters. Fortunately the pictures are great throughout the comic and make up for these downfalls.

The picnic seems to be the turning point in the tone of the storytelling, because from this point the comic gets exciting not only in action but dialogue as well. Bertwald meets Amalia for a picnic and it is a great scene, truly depicting their personalities and relationship. The comic wraps up with a tragedy and a promise of some unexpected events in upcoming issues.

Green Valley #1 has me on the fence whether I want to continue with the series or not. It has great potential but also could follow the same pattern in other issues, which would get old fast. The title is troubling me as I am not seeing the reason for calling it Green Valley. Maybe they will get to that in the next issue. This is one of those comic books that you have to read yourself and determine your own stance on it.