Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Andrei Bressan
Colors by Adriano Lucas
Published by Image Comics
The ongoing turmoil within the Rhodes families continues in Birthright #7. For the uninitiated, Birthright follows Mickey, a young boy whisked off to the fantastic realm of Terrenos, who arrives back on Earth a grown man while his home has only been missing him for a year. Things are not all they seem as Mickey claims to have slain the cruel ruler of Terrenos, the God King Lore, but in actually seems to be a puppet in the conquest of the human world. Breaking out of his confines, Mickey has taken his (technically) older brother in a mission to slay the four Terrenian wizards with the power to stop him whom are secretly living on Earth.
Despite a heavy number of branching plot lines transpiring both the present and the past, Birthright rarely falls victim to its multifaceted story. While most panel time is given to the Rhodes brothers, their mother Alison some other characters who will go unspoiled are clearly the tissue connecting to the broader story. As last issue focused on Brennan slowly discovering his brother isn’t all that he appears to be, this one focuses on their bond with one another minus Mickey turning into a terrifying bearded Conan, most of the time. In fact, this month features some of the more endearing and humorous moments between the two. A highlight is where the musclebound Mickey tries to explain to his blooming brother about approaching girls. That being said, the stand out figure of this issue is Alison as she learns more of Mickey’s time on Terrenos and starts hunting down her sons solo.
The art and colors by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas respectively is always a joy though this issue comes in a bit weaker than previous entries. It’s clear they are better equipped for a high fantasy look and this month is a much more down to earth installment. Bressan works much better with crowded spaces with lots of detail and has trouble conveying open areas like deserts. It leads to some panels looking weak and background figures and objects getting blurry. Still, when there are swords and spells in play, the art delivers on every front. This issue simply played less to their talents.
Birthright #7 continues this immensely satisfying series. It’s clear that Williamson and Bressan have a more complex story to tell than “What if the kids from Narnia did age” and with how it stages the final page, the structure becomes more reminiscent of the likes of Saga. Definitely worth picking up.