BARBARIC #1

Barbaric (Single Issues)

by Nathan Gooden

Owen the Barbarian has been cursed to do good with what remains of his life. His bloodthirsty weapon, Axe, has become his moral compass with a drinking problem. Together they wander the realm, foredoomed to help any who seek assistance. But there is one thing Owen hates more than a life with Witches. Welcome to the skull-cracking, blood-splattering, mayhem-loving comic brave enough to How can a man sworn to do good do so much violence? Hah! F***ing with you. It's just...BARBARIC.

Genres: Comics, Fantasy

32 pages, Comic

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Matty Dub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure Conan clone outConaning Conan is the most Conanish way. I fucking loved this.

[Murphy C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Juvenile, amateurish writing, plagued by incorrect usage (a character says they feel "tiresome" instead of "tired", for crying out loud) and ungrammatical sentence structure, pretty much killed the experience for me. The plot is somewhat intriguing and the art is decent; however, I won't be going out of my way to read any more.

[Pranay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this new series. The writing is humourous and the art is fantastic. Perfect for a comic.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun premise well handled, barbaric bad-boy/warrior is curse to help people, do good and kill bad guys. Owen the barbarian is accompanied by a talking sword who gets drunk on blood. Fun story and art that is dragged down a notch by a limited and ugly color palette.

[Rowena Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the cover that hooked me, but I fell in love with Barbaric from the moment I started reading. For one, the art is bloody (literally) fantastic and Gooden just does such a good job of expressing the characters. There isn’t a wasted moment, and each of the characters – whether minor or our main character Owen comes to life on the page because he just captures who they are in all ways from expressions to movement. He also does an excellent job of capturing the nature of the world – this is a violent, vulgar, brutal world and that is shown in gleeful detail (maybe not the comic for people that don’t appreciate violence or nudity, or loose body parts). The art is enhanced by the deft work of the colourist Addison Duke – and the cover really does give you a good indication of how this world and its characters are realised.

There are clear influences from media such as Conan the Barbarian, but Barbaric is very much its own thing. Moreci has created a solid, entertaining story that knows exactly what it is and wears its heart (and its innards) on its sleeve. It embraces everything that it is – the violence, the vulgarity, the fact that Owen our main character really isn’t a hero – and it does so with moments of humour, strong characterisation and momentum that pulls you constantly forward. I loved Owen from the moment we met him – he’s not a hero, or really an anti-hero – he’s a guy cursed to do good by witches, and seeking vengeance for that curse, and dealing with the situation as best as he could. I also loved his relationship with his axe – Axe (also I have such a strong soft spot for sentient weapons, and Barbaric scratches that itch perfectly).

This was the perfect combination of art, story and characterisation and while I knew from the moment I heard about it I would probably enjoy it, I wasn’t prepared for how much I loved it and I’ve already pre-ordered volume one (which collects #1-#3 into one volume). Barbaric is so much fun (as long as you don’t mind a little…or a lot of blood) and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Barbaric #1” is a fucking blast! From virtually the very first page, gruesome creatures are beheaded, barmaids fall out of their tops, and a badass warrior bemoans the supernatural curse that forces him to be the reluctant hero. It’s not Shakespeare but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a bitchin’ “Heavy Metal”-style throwback bathed in blood.

[Christoph Weber]

Awesome! Fantastic!

I came upon an early review and knew I would love this. And I did. I finally got around to actually reading it, and loved it so much.
The humor is great, the little things just make this so wonderful.

[Robert Hultman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this one, I have decoded to give the series another chance. I think the talking axe is dumb, but there are enough other redeeming qualities to make up for one oddity. Lots of boobs and blood and F bombs.

[uzhuj · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's one of those where it's hard to decide if I want to go on with this series or not. There are some interesting design choices, but then the story and especially the way how the characters interact are sometimes very annoying and the words take me out of the fantasy.
The axe looks good tho.

[Leo Finocchi]

C

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Güzel başladı.

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The colors in this are vivid, the drawing brutish, the writing so so and none of that matters because I LOVE the bloodthirsty, snarky axe. This series is all about him, right?

[Trevor ComicFan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Free Comic Book Day version that was recently released. This issue was fantastic. I will definitely be getting the collected edition!