Bear Pirate Viking Queen Vol. 1

by Sean Lewis, Jonathan Marks Barravecchia (artist)

The groundbreaking three-issue miniseries is collected in its entirety.
A tale of the sea, of Pirates, Vikings, Queens, and bears, we follow each as they war with each other and try to assert dominance over the past and future of our world. Written by bestselling creator SEAN LEWIS (KING SPAWN, ABOVE SNAKES), and with mind-blowing hand-painted art by newcomer JONATHAN MARKS BARRAVECCHIA, the book is unlike anything you’ve read. Beautiful, poignant, and daring—a fever dream unlike any comics has seen lately.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Pirates, Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[Michael J.]

The story has a lot to convey through brilliant image and concisely crafted text. It deserves a slowed-down reading to completely absorb and understand. I hesitate to label this as literary fiction as that might put off some readers who could consider it pretentious and not bother to check it out. This deserves a wide audience.

The story has much to say about oppression, power struggles, grudges, and independence. The exquisite hand-painted, watercolor art is a perfect compliment to a simple yet profound story.

If you’ve read as many comics as I have, it’s often hard to find something that seems fresh and different. I knew nothing about this title, but pre-ordered this prior to the release dates based on the art alone. It deserved a second reading, and I just finished.

     A wonder to behold. There are traces of Bill Sienkiewicz, Ben Templesmith, Andrea Mutti and Jon J. Muth (all artists that I admire) in the style of Barravecchia. Check out the highly detailed penciling without dark ink lines, and watercolor washes on other scenes. The only flaw is the faint, tiny lettering (also by Barravecchia) which can be challenging to read clearly in several panels. 

      But what about the story, and what’s different about it?  Pirates! You just don’t find many pirate comics. The addition of supernatural and fantasy elements makes this is a winner for me. 

   A seafaring British captain protecting the Queen’s treasures has his ship boarded by pirates and is thrown overboard for the sharks to enjoy. Instead, he lives thanks to the unusual presence of a huge bear in the water, who befriends, rescues him, and even communicates. The captain transforms into a pirate and preys on other British ships utilizing clever boarding tactics. When his crew encounters a mysterious Viking vessel, things take another weird turn. 

   They find a madman proclaiming to be a wizard, his two exotic daughters, and a thing in the hold that presents an even bigger threat. Soon, the captain is dead in the water again.

From that point, an ancient viking takes command and returns to England to confront the Queen. They have a long-standing conflict that needs to be settled. How Sean Lewis transports the story from there needs to be discovered without foreknowledge.

You should check this out. There’s really nothing quite like it on current comic shop shelves.

[francesco]

A drunken daze of evocative and gorgeous, yet battered drawings that present the endless, seemingly futile life of conquest, imperialism, and capitalism that the everyman has had to suffer under for years, over an earth that can lay claim to no man.

Stunning and underrated

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy]

Conquering through violence and culture- what the winners decide is what is right and what happens to those victimized becomes the wrong way to live or exist. The violence of culture and globe-spanning kingdoms.

Gorgeous artwork, very cool use of full page spreads and mixed panels. This is a great comic to look at. I am not sure if id say I loved this book but I certainly enjoyed reading it.

If it’s at your library check it out!

[Rob]

Gorgeous, immersive, weird, and wonderful. I loved it. Some readers may be reminded of Sienkiewicz’s classic, striking New Mutants visuals, but I think Lewis’ venture here is bold(er) and beautiful in its own way.

[Valéria.]

This is everything you want from comic book. Storytelling and the art. Gorgeous in every way. Re-read worthy. Extraordinary. I’m just blown away.

[Shane Stanis]

A watercolor fever dream that takes itself more seriously than one would expect from a book titled Bear Pirate Viking Queen.

[Adrian Bloxham]

beautifully drawn, meticulously told and absolutely brilliant comic

[Shannon Clark]

Incredible art and a story that has an impact. Going to probably have to reread this a few times to see all the details in the art and the story. It is an exceptional comic and I highly recommend it especially in the collected graphic novel which includes some gorgeous bonus art and script pages.

That said it has elements that I think don’t work as well - pages where the thread of the page, how to actually read it is not always clear and some of the details get a bit lost in the art style and choices. It’s gorgeous but it is, at times, hard to follow.

Still highly recommended just go into it with few expectations and a clear understanding that this is very much for adults. And CW for all the things England or Vikings or Pirates have been known to do.

[Viktor Logi]

An enjoyable, beautiful, if not slightly esoteric and confusing comic.

For the most part I enjoyed it and I did like the theme of everyone from Pirates, Vikings, to Queens are locked in a neverending battle for power and the only result is death. I thought that message came through well.

While I thought the art looked visually astounding, I have had similiar problems with certain comics where the art may be visually striking but not always clear and understandable.

My personal preference with comic book art is that I prefer clarity over all.
Comics are littered with actions and scenes are constantly changing, and with this book, I often had to look at an image for a while before understanding what I was looking at.
Again, It is visually spectacular! The colors and mix between watercolor, sketch, loose pen drawings, it all looks incredible but it sacrifices clarity for visual flare.
To some that may not be an issue but it feels worth noting.

As a whole, it's an interesting enough comic, with some incredibly striking art! I'm happy to have read it!

3,25☆

[Sarah AK]

Phenomenal art, not so phenomenal story and execution. I adored the art, although it was hard to read at times. It felt very evocative and dreamlike, and I wish more comic books would break out into true art like this. Unfortunately the story was also a bit "dreamlike," but more in that it felt confusing and choppy. Aside from the art, it all felt a little too avant-garde for my taste. That said, I will probably read this again sometime, because I think I'll "get it" more on a second pass (and it is wonderful to look at), but I also think books shouldn't need a second pass to make sense...

[Andrew Steele]

I didn't love it.

This was the second comic in a row that was painted by watercolor and I think this was a great example of why it's sometimes not a good idea.

Each panel was "painterly" enough to hang on a wall, (it also evoked emotion quite well) but it made for terrible storytelling. There were many instances where I didn't have a clue what was supposed to be portrayed. It ended up really frustrating me.

The actual story was fine, but there wasn't a lot there.

[Estibaliz]

M'eh...

I'm not saying the art is not worthy, but the watercolor didn't really work for me as it makes the story telling really muddled and confusing. Till the point there's times you don't even know what's actually happening in the panels.

Plus the story felt excessively moralist and even a bit preachy. I mean, the message of fighting for your freedom is great, but the way it was done felt too artsy for my liking.

I wouldn't have minded if I had actually skipped this one entirely...

[Timothy Patrick Boyer]

"OUR PAST IS WHAT WE SHOULD FEAR. IT WILL COME AND TAKE OUR BONES FROM INSIDE OUR SKIN."

Despite some of the artwork being downright spellbinding, this book is a total bore. Worse than that, it's a an abstract, pretentious, sloppy bore with storytelling that's just about as poorly written as it is angry. And it's really f*cking angry.

Finally... God Save the Queen.

2/10

[M.i.]

One of the more evocative books I’ve read in a minute, that immediately grabs you with its mesmeric art style.

The story itself although based on historical if not mythological characters, might as well pass for a retelling of the current world since the themes of conquest, empire, identity etc are still all relevant.

[JM]

Lots of stars for using the mixed media and not looking like every superhero comic book out there nor even really being about superheroes. However, it is a strange book. I was happy to be done with it. I think there is more to gain from thinking more about the narrative and its intent however, I need to move on to reading other stories.

[Derek Moreland]

My vote for comic of the year.

The story is both ethereal and not as smart as it thinks it is, evoking early Morrison with a dash of Jonathon Hickman; the art is its own force of nature, echoing Sienkiewicz but always, ALWAYS its own creature.

I adored this comic from start to finish.

[Erik]

A really fantastic-looking comic. The story starts exactly as you'd expect before turning into something completely different by the end. It all works well though and might even be better after another reading.

[Elizabeth Brophy]

nowhere near as fun as that title suggests. in places the artwork is beautiful but overall, I'm not convinced by watercolors for a comic book. the short piece at the back tells you a lot, and it's just not as profound as it thinks

[Ryan McCarten]

Picked this up largely because my partner liked the title and cover. I was quite surprised to find the story is heavy with themes of culture, colonialism, the cycles of violence, and exploitation. Interesting art that feels gritty and dirty tie the package together.

[Dena Burnett]

Read it in monthly issues. Slow start, but sticks the landing.

[Mee Too]

i was a bit confused as to where this story was going but i'm glad i stayed along for the ride.

"Become what you are: FREE."

[N. Niemeier]

Artistically lavish--definitely a head-trip--but weird and unclear and preachy all at once? I'm not sure the moral of the story is as profound as the author thinks it is.

[Scholastic Squid]

Four stars for the art alone. The fonts were hard to read via hoopla but that’s the e-readers fault it’s not graphic novel worthy.

[Steve]

The watercolour art was interesting. The story was a fable, I guess. Kinda lost the thread a bit.

[Duncan]

Well, this is certainly something. There is not story. The art style is mostly just blobs that are very difficult to tell what is going on. It seems like its trying to be philosophical and deep or something but it fails on all those fronts. It is just boring and is difficult to force a finish here.

[Payton Russell]

3.75 stars

This is a very unique graphic novel, and the artwork is fascinating and beautiful. I would’ve liked to have seen this story fleshed out a lot more. Give me a thicc version haha.

[Michael Daines]

I really wasn’t sure what “Bear Pirate Viking Queen” was going to be about, but it was an interesting read nonetheless. It has some critiques of British colonialism alongside other expansionist efforts.

I am not sure who to recommend it to. The art is more experimental than most graphic novel fare, but the lettering is difficult at times.

[Brenden]

The art is phenomenal, the story is difficult to follow, but hits deep

[Ross]

More of an art piece...
Less of a comic...

This thing can get pretty weird (and hard to follow)