The King's Warrior

by Huahua Zhu

A mighty warrior in the service of a great King is charged with vanquishing the kingdom’s final threat, a powerful and evil alchemist. Promised that she will finally be freed alongside her brother once the deed is done, her blade will not stop and the blood of beasts will run.

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée

74 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mara and her brother Echo were kidnapped by the Golden King as children. Mara proved her bravery in battle and rose to become the King's most trusted and deadly soldier while Echo lay in a coma, alive but unmoving. Now the King has asked Mara to complete one last task before he allows her and Echo to leave his castle and his service. But all of the King's tasks are poisoned at the heart. This is a slim, beautiful, tragic monster story of loyalty and betrayal. I loved the limited color palette and use of flashbacks; it gave me vibes of The Last Unicorn and Tears of the Kingdom.

[Matthias Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a birthday present from my girlfriend, and the favorite comic of a certain comic store owner in Dublin. This was a super fast read, and beautiful. It had the same magic that Legend of Zelda and Ghibli have, and it’s just this little fairy tale of a warrior and her lionsteed. The art is incredible, the use of colors to show different times is wonderful, the action is jagged and exciting. The characters are mysterious and engaging. This is probably something I could read four more times this year for thirty minutes of wonder and fantasy. Highly recommend.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tightly woven fantasy story about greed, duty, and betrayal. The manga-influenced artwork is exquisite. Huahua uses three limited color palettes to distinguish past, present, and dream. You can feel the weight of the grizzled protagonist's soul after years of service to a ruthless king, all to save her brother. The end was a bit unsatisfying, but maybe just because I wanted a longer story.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art and atmosphere, really cool and interesting use of shifting colour palettes to mark changes in tone, setting and time period. An interesting self-contained story - a dark medieval fantasy with light horror elements. I loved seeing the main character's changes in design as she dedicate herself over the years to a singleminded, bloody pursuit with the hopes of saving her brother, and how that growing darkness was reflected in the world and the colours of the comic. I think it could have done with just a few more pages to flesh out the story a teensy bit more, but I also enjoyed the mystery and that you leave the comic with some unanswered questions.

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mara is The King's Warrior. Selected at a young age due to her demonstrated courage, the lord of the Golden City raises her up to be the champion of his city. Atop her lionsteed, Growl, she tears across the land in search of the Black Castle, home to some horrors that are set to doom the Golden City. But Mara's motivations are drawn from something substantially more personal than just serving her king.

Though the story setup has a fairly typical high fantasy flair to it, the way the story unfolds is decidedly more subversive and unorthodox than its premise. Huahua Zhu blends the feudal European aesthetic with East Asian influences, a style that has been growing ever more common in contemporary fantasy comics. Huahua's illustrative prowess is highlighted in the formalistic experimentation, where each page promises differentiated panel layouts and perspectives. Though the aesthetic of the fantasy world is well defined, it feels as if Huahua is playing around with the sequential structure throughout. The use of soft offset colors provide a soothing backdrop, but can change on a dime to produce more sinister moments.

This isn't a necessarily deep comic; I'd even refer to it as slight (not as a criticism, though) given the relatively simple narrative and archetypal characters, but it's executed to precision. Huahua's varied form shouldn't be seen as discomfort in her style - it's experimentation for the sake of bringing something unique to the medium.

[Midna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphically and narratively incredibly engaging fantasy tale with doses of body horror and visual storytelling that I wish the author would rely more on (as the most poignant moments of this novel happen without almost any talking happening.)
I really loved this little tale and would jump at the chance of getting a more fleshed out comic with a similar setting by the author.

[Ell Rojer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"the king's warrior" is a small novella, but what a tour de force. a haunting story of an empire's expansion, we follow mara as she must navigate her charge as the king's knight in order to save her brother. incredible worldbuilding, colors, visual formatting, and texture. the inkwork blew me away. such a special read.

[dragonriderjinx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dang 😭😭😭 this was so good I’m going to be thinking about it for a while. This is a combination of everything I love with art that’s insanely detailed yet soft and lush. Was not expecting it to gut punch me like that

Impulse bought in San Fran at Green Apple Books, super cute bookstore with a great zine and comic selection

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't believe this 74 page comic broke my heart not once, but twice. The art is beautiful (obviously), but I was surprised by how gorgeous the physical book is as well. It's clear a lot of care went into the production of this. I'm excited to read whatever Huahua Zhu does next!

[S.Matt Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two siblings get abducted by the ruling class. One becomes a warrior of the state; the other's fate is unknown. This slender volume features some beautiful illustrations with a mythology that is just beginning to get unpacked.

[Maëlle · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est plus 3,5⭐, mais en fait, ça aurait été vraiment super, si seulement ça avait été plus long - là, plein d'événements m'ont donné l'impression d'être rushés, et on peut pas tellement s'attacher aux personnages... C'est dommage parce que la couleur et les dessins sont hyper beaux !

[reallee · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'univers est trop cool, le dessin miam et tout ce récit autour de la loyauté/de la trahison est bien ficelé. Quelques pages en plus et on aurait vraiment pu plus explorer cet univers et ces thématiques et vraiment s'attacher aux personnages !!

[Dan Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely laid out book with a great mount for the warrior - a lion steed. Not sure what to make of the ending yet but I enjoyed the journey.

[Greg Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous weird monsters. love it! layouts are soooooo good

[Sai · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am literally devastated right now.. the art is gorgeous and so good at conveying the story

some of the text reads like it was put through a translating tool ?

[Aglaé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story telling, beautiful drawings, well crafted glimpses into a fantasy universe.

Also, tortured warrior girl. 💕

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the art, but wish it were a bit longer!

[Gage Melton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this. Very cool premise, great illustration. The ending was a bit lackluster. It made sense but I thought it could have been a little more interesting.

[Kitsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado.

[Jantzen Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definition of a pleasure read. Gorgeous.

[David Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short tight little epic fantasy with great art. A pleasure after all the isekai nonsense that’s been flooding the market.

[LibrisEtCaetera · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

[Zak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, tragic. A quick read that mimics the world building and depth of character of a Miyazaki film.

[C Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely art, simple well done story, and has a nice twist. Would recommend - I just wish it was a little longer.

I’d recommend it to anyone who vibes with the art and is looking for a quick read.

[Meggie Ramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A girl fights for a king atop a fearsome chimera in order to save her brother.

This was my third or fourth comic from Bulgilhan press and every single thing they print is unbelievably gorgeous.
This comic is now on my favorite reads shelf and I'm going to be pouring over the pages as a cartoonist and a printer again and again to try and figure out how they did it.