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Heartpiercer
Atala thought she was saving the world—but in hunting down the great beasts, she wound up dooming it.
Betrayed by her lord, Kurrn, and left for dead, she awakes in a dark world overrun by nightmares, with a single mission on her revenge.
But before she can avenge herself on Kurrn, she must deal with the devastation left in his wake - beginning with a tribe of vicious werewolves menacing one of the last human settlements. As she confronts the bestial Howler and comes to terms with her own past, Atala must unlock a deep and ancient power inside herself if she is to survive, much less triumph.
A thrilling new dark fantasy graphic novel from the minds of Rich Douek and Gavin Smith, with Nicholas Burgdorf, Roshan Kurichiyanil and Justin Birch.
Collects Heartpiercer #1–#4.
Betrayed by her lord, Kurrn, and left for dead, she awakes in a dark world overrun by nightmares, with a single mission on her revenge.
But before she can avenge herself on Kurrn, she must deal with the devastation left in his wake - beginning with a tribe of vicious werewolves menacing one of the last human settlements. As she confronts the bestial Howler and comes to terms with her own past, Atala must unlock a deep and ancient power inside herself if she is to survive, much less triumph.
A thrilling new dark fantasy graphic novel from the minds of Rich Douek and Gavin Smith, with Nicholas Burgdorf, Roshan Kurichiyanil and Justin Birch.
Collects Heartpiercer #1–#4.
96 pages, Paperback
Published December 24, 2024
7 people want to read
About the author
Rich Douek
99 books38 followersRich is an award-winning copywriter, and the creator of the independent comic series, Gutter Magic. He has worked on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Universe comics for IDW, and has published short stories in the New York Times-featured All We Ever Wanted anthology, for A Wave Blue World, as well as anthologies for Comixtribe and Red Stylo press. Additonally, he is a moderator of the Comics Experience Creator's Workshop, where he strives to help newer creators learn how to create their own comics and navigate the industry.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 24, 2025
*sigh* I get really irked when a decent idea and great art are compromised by a rushed, unedited story.
I was thinking of giving it a 3, because the art is really good, but honestly, the whole story makes no sense. It's like a D&D session that is easily carried by the players' antics but cannot hold water as a narrative on its own.
*SPOILERS*
The BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy)'s betrayal: makes no sense.
Heartpiercer's survival the first time her heart is pierced (and her getting better): never explained.
Heartpiercer's survival the second time her heart is pierced: barely holds water.
Heartpiercer's perception of good and evil AS PRESENTED, as well as her choices is what we call in D&D "Chaotic Stupid", or an "Intelligence 3" character.
And there's other issues (such as my pet peeve that the weapon the protagonist uses cannot possibly work that way), but these are more than enough. I will concede there was a good story seed, but it needed a lot more work to actually make sense.
I was thinking of giving it a 3, because the art is really good, but honestly, the whole story makes no sense. It's like a D&D session that is easily carried by the players' antics but cannot hold water as a narrative on its own.
*SPOILERS*
The BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy)'s betrayal: makes no sense.
Heartpiercer's survival the first time her heart is pierced (and her getting better): never explained.
Heartpiercer's survival the second time her heart is pierced: barely holds water.
Heartpiercer's perception of good and evil AS PRESENTED, as well as her choices is what we call in D&D "Chaotic Stupid", or an "Intelligence 3" character.
And there's other issues (such as my pet peeve that the weapon the protagonist uses cannot possibly work that way), but these are more than enough. I will concede there was a good story seed, but it needed a lot more work to actually make sense.
August 19, 2024
I enjoyed the art more than the story. The story was okay and had potential but felt rushed and like they only had time for a surface level understanding of everything. Things and characters seemed to appear out of no where at times leaving me feeling like I missed something.
The art was great though and I would give the next collection of these a try for that alone.
The art was great though and I would give the next collection of these a try for that alone.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews