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Birthright #1
Birthright, Vol. 1: Homecoming
For the Rhodes family, losing their son was the most devastating thing that could have occurred...but it couldn't prepare them for what happened when he returned. Skybound's newest hit turns fantasy into reality in this all-new series from the creator of Nailbiter and Ghosted. Pick up this introductory-priced collection and see what everyone's talking about!
Collecting: Birthright 1-5
Collecting: Birthright 1-5
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2014
33 people are currently reading
1578 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
September 27, 2020
A few hours before his birthday party, a little boy named Mikey and his father are playing catch near some woods. Mikey goes in after a ball and never comes out.
The search for him goes cold, his father is eventually suspected of killing him, his parents divorce, and his older brother is left adrift in the aftermath of it all.
Flash forward a bit and the family gets called to the police station because there's a grown man in cosplaying in some sort of Conan the Barbarian outfit, claiming to be Mikey.
Mom isn't buying it at all because this is legitimately crazy.
Dad is 100% sure this is his kid - how can no one else see it?
And big brother is caught somewhere between disbelief that this lunatic has the nerve to make the claim at all, and hope that they might finally find some answers to the tragedy that tore his world apart.
So where has he been? According to little Mike, he's been in another dimension fighting gods alongside troll and fairies as their Chosen One, and time passes differently there.
And that's nowhere near the weirdest twist this story takes.
This was a pleasant surprise from start to finish and I can't wait to read the next volume!
The search for him goes cold, his father is eventually suspected of killing him, his parents divorce, and his older brother is left adrift in the aftermath of it all.
Flash forward a bit and the family gets called to the police station because there's a grown man in cosplaying in some sort of Conan the Barbarian outfit, claiming to be Mikey.
Mom isn't buying it at all because this is legitimately crazy.
Dad is 100% sure this is his kid - how can no one else see it?
And big brother is caught somewhere between disbelief that this lunatic has the nerve to make the claim at all, and hope that they might finally find some answers to the tragedy that tore his world apart.
So where has he been? According to little Mike, he's been in another dimension fighting gods alongside troll and fairies as their Chosen One, and time passes differently there.
And that's nowhere near the weirdest twist this story takes.
This was a pleasant surprise from start to finish and I can't wait to read the next volume!
December 7, 2018
Kid disappears in the park one day and is never seen again. People suspect his paw done kilt him. Naw, don’t be sills – he just went to a Narnia-esque land where he became a warrior, fought monsters, and returned a fully-grown man despite only one year passing in our world! He hunting wizards now.
… uh huh. So, Birthright, Volume 1: Homecoming is every fantasy story ever conceived. The fantasyland is populated by knights, monsters, orcs, wizards, barbarians, magic and giant weapons, and writer Joshua Williamson even has the audacity to include a plot where our protagonist is The Chosen One from a Prophecy who will save them all. How stunningly generic and unoriginal!
There’s one slight twist in that the hero isn’t quite what he appears to be but it’s nowhere near enough to make me keep reading the series. Neither the writing nor the art are anything special and I was dozing off on every other page. Bland, boring, unimaginative sludge from beginning to end – don’t bother.
… uh huh. So, Birthright, Volume 1: Homecoming is every fantasy story ever conceived. The fantasyland is populated by knights, monsters, orcs, wizards, barbarians, magic and giant weapons, and writer Joshua Williamson even has the audacity to include a plot where our protagonist is The Chosen One from a Prophecy who will save them all. How stunningly generic and unoriginal!
There’s one slight twist in that the hero isn’t quite what he appears to be but it’s nowhere near enough to make me keep reading the series. Neither the writing nor the art are anything special and I was dozing off on every other page. Bland, boring, unimaginative sludge from beginning to end – don’t bother.
February 7, 2016
This was a great fantasy comic book. It takes place both in modern world and in a fantasy land, switching back and forth in between the two.
The pacing and transitions between scenes were perfect!! I really enjoyed this!
The pacing and transitions between scenes were perfect!! I really enjoyed this!
February 7, 2017
Did this tale of a boy who goes missing in the woods, apparently becomes the chosen one who liberates a fantasy world from an oppressive god king, and returns to Earth to save his family and the world from five rogue sorcerers tickle the back of my knees in the manner of a frisky kitten eager to be scratched behind its ears and/or fed?
No.
Is that the worst negative analogy I have ever used to lead off a review?
Sadly, probably not.
Birthright gets off to a solid start, thanks mostly to a not exactly groundbreaking, but still interesting twist (which I won’t spoil here, other than to suggest that our hero may not be the hero he appears to be), though it feels like an amalgamation of 50 other fantasy tales, a Frankensteinian patchwork product rather than a wholly original tale (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing—very few tales are truly original; this just feels more derivative in its individual components than most). Still, it’s well-paced and the art is solid, so a sufficiently diverting read, and I think it’s likely that I’ll at least check out the next volume.
Now, where’s my cat? These knee pits aren't going to tickle themselves, you know...
No.
Is that the worst negative analogy I have ever used to lead off a review?
Sadly, probably not.
Birthright gets off to a solid start, thanks mostly to a not exactly groundbreaking, but still interesting twist (which I won’t spoil here, other than to suggest that our hero may not be the hero he appears to be), though it feels like an amalgamation of 50 other fantasy tales, a Frankensteinian patchwork product rather than a wholly original tale (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing—very few tales are truly original; this just feels more derivative in its individual components than most). Still, it’s well-paced and the art is solid, so a sufficiently diverting read, and I think it’s likely that I’ll at least check out the next volume.
Now, where’s my cat? These knee pits aren't going to tickle themselves, you know...
December 17, 2018
So you know the stories about the regular, average, normal Joe (or Jane) that get sucked away to another magical world and fight off evil and become the hero?
Well, that's what this is. Only this time the spin is that all of that has already happened and this is about the hero returning to his world and dealing with the life that he left behind. This go-around the hero in question happens to be a little boy that was secreted away and while on earth only a year has passed, however, in the little boys world he has grown into a man.
So yeah. Little boy returns as a man and is reunited with his family. Only, of course, his family are all fucked up now because...well...they thought that they had lost their little boy.
Meh.
But you know what. It was a fun read. The hero in question might not be all that he is painted out to be and the interactions with the family are pretty interesting.
Also, it's kinda fun to see a 'Conan type' character rampaging around on present day earth.
Well, that's what this is. Only this time the spin is that all of that has already happened and this is about the hero returning to his world and dealing with the life that he left behind. This go-around the hero in question happens to be a little boy that was secreted away and while on earth only a year has passed, however, in the little boys world he has grown into a man.
So yeah. Little boy returns as a man and is reunited with his family. Only, of course, his family are all fucked up now because...well...they thought that they had lost their little boy.
Meh.
But you know what. It was a fun read. The hero in question might not be all that he is painted out to be and the interactions with the family are pretty interesting.
Also, it's kinda fun to see a 'Conan type' character rampaging around on present day earth.
February 5, 2017
Oh, god no. I don't have time for this.
Listen, fantasy, well High fantasy, is not only my favorite genre, but I've been reading a lot of it lately and... this doesn't do it for me. It adds nothing new to the genre. It's full of clichés and the writing in here? Awful.
So, I just realized I never
(except for that Catwoman volume by Ann Nocent that deserved 0 stars)
give 1 star ratings to comics. Dude, the kind of work of not only the writer but of the artist(s) in every volume makes me take a moment before rating something and not be that damn too harsh about it, but fuck it, I didn't like this one. Not even the artwork was something special. So here you have it: My first one star!
The Plot: Little Mikey, a 5 year old or some shit like that, got lost in the woods while playing with his dad. A year later, after the sudden disappearance, the family is broken. The mom started believing the rumors of Mikey's dad role in this, that maybe he killed their son, so she leaves him and their older son. Now Brennan, Mikey's brother, is a loner on school and his dad is an alcoholic. Then, one day they're called by the police because they found a man in the woods. This Conan The Barbarian wannabe calls himself a dragon slayer, a warrior who comes from another world to save this one, because this world was once his home. Yup, you guessed it!Not-so-Little Mikey is back.
I was bored out of my mind. Like I said, I didn't find anything new or original in this story and what makes it worse is the huge wasted opportunity in here. We see the struggles of Mikey's family after his disappearance, so what could have been an emotional situation and a way to engage the reader in a much more human way into this fantasy world becomes a wasted element. There was a good idea there, but the execution just suuuuucked and in the end I didn't only hate Mikeyand his LISTEN TO ALL OF MY GREAT FANTASTIC FEATS speeches, but the mom, the dad and the brother were awful, underdeveloped secondary characters.
I don't know man, maybe I'm just an asshole today, so here: have a one star! But I just didn't find anything redeemable.. It's not even that I hated this, it was such an underwhelming -I'm rolling my eyes at this- kind of experience. I want my money and time back and I'm honestly even regretting wasting time writing this cause I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna remember this story in a couple of days.
Listen, fantasy, well High fantasy, is not only my favorite genre, but I've been reading a lot of it lately and... this doesn't do it for me. It adds nothing new to the genre. It's full of clichés and the writing in here? Awful.
So, I just realized I never
The Plot: Little Mikey, a 5 year old or some shit like that, got lost in the woods while playing with his dad. A year later, after the sudden disappearance, the family is broken. The mom started believing the rumors of Mikey's dad role in this, that maybe he killed their son, so she leaves him and their older son. Now Brennan, Mikey's brother, is a loner on school and his dad is an alcoholic. Then, one day they're called by the police because they found a man in the woods. This Conan The Barbarian wannabe calls himself a dragon slayer, a warrior who comes from another world to save this one, because this world was once his home. Yup, you guessed it!
I was bored out of my mind. Like I said, I didn't find anything new or original in this story and what makes it worse is the huge wasted opportunity in here. We see the struggles of Mikey's family after his disappearance, so what could have been an emotional situation and a way to engage the reader in a much more human way into this fantasy world becomes a wasted element. There was a good idea there, but the execution just suuuuucked and in the end I didn't only hate Mikey
I don't know man, maybe I'm just an asshole today, so here: have a one star! But I just didn't find anything redeemable.. It's not even that I hated this, it was such an underwhelming -I'm rolling my eyes at this- kind of experience. I want my money and time back and I'm honestly even regretting wasting time writing this cause I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna remember this story in a couple of days.
November 27, 2017
An interesting twist on the old kid is transported to another world where he must become a hero story. Great art too from Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas. Can't wait too read the next volume.
August 15, 2018
Another one in the stream of my buddy reads, this time it's me giving another chance to Joshua Williamson, whose comics I previously thought were tepid at most. I don't have a long review in me today, but I'll just say that Birthright changed my opinion — I really enjoyed this comic and was quite impressed by Williamson's writing here compared to some of his other books. The concept is really fun, the storytelling is fast paced and filled with various twists, and the artwork looks nice. Birthright is not a super deep story (quite the opposite, in fact), but it also doesn't pretend to be anything other than pure popcorn entertainment, and I'm fine with that because the end result is a very entertaining comic book. Sometimes that's enough.
Once again thanks to Chris for a solid recommendation!
June 15, 2015
3.5 stars
This starts of as a cross between, the lion the witch and the wardrobe and Lord of the rings. I was hoping it would be more Lord of the rings or at least one of them, but it didn't quite hit the spot for me.
Mikey was playing ball with his dad in the woods and ends up being kidnapped by warriors from another realm. His family goes into melt down while he is gone for a year. Divorce, break up and accusations follow. A year later he appears as a full grown man in the police station, telling his story of how he is destined to save the mother realm from some evil dude, but there is a twist.
This story in vol. 2 could go either way but I'm interested to find out which.
This starts of as a cross between, the lion the witch and the wardrobe and Lord of the rings. I was hoping it would be more Lord of the rings or at least one of them, but it didn't quite hit the spot for me.
Mikey was playing ball with his dad in the woods and ends up being kidnapped by warriors from another realm. His family goes into melt down while he is gone for a year. Divorce, break up and accusations follow. A year later he appears as a full grown man in the police station, telling his story of how he is destined to save the mother realm from some evil dude, but there is a twist.
This story in vol. 2 could go either way but I'm interested to find out which.
August 20, 2016
This was a really quick and action-packed fantasy graphic novel and I'm so excited to pick up the next 2 volumes!
August 2, 2016
Playing in the woods with his dad, a boy goes missing. One year later a stranger is found in the woods, who says he knows what happened. Chaos ensues.
Epic fantasy with a twist, gorgeous art and no punches pulled. I've already passed this along to a couple of people, this is firmly in the "must own" category.
Epic fantasy with a twist, gorgeous art and no punches pulled. I've already passed this along to a couple of people, this is firmly in the "must own" category.
February 27, 2021
The cover gave me serious King Arthur vibes which was not an accurate representation of what this was about. Despite feeling slight disappointment due to the lack of King Arthur content in this, I really enjoyed this comic.
There were solid complex characters and compelling dynamics between them all. The cuts between Mikey’s past and the present were nicely timed and not too overdone. The air of mystery and the sudden fast paced adventure were thrilling and exciting. And to top it all off, the art and colours were epic.
A seriously well done start to a comic I wouldn’t mind reading more of!
There were solid complex characters and compelling dynamics between them all. The cuts between Mikey’s past and the present were nicely timed and not too overdone. The air of mystery and the sudden fast paced adventure were thrilling and exciting. And to top it all off, the art and colours were epic.
A seriously well done start to a comic I wouldn’t mind reading more of!
June 14, 2021
This was such a great volume, focusing on this guy Mikey who disappears in the woods while playing with his dad. His father is suspected of killing him and their family falls apart. Then comes the big twist when one year later, a grown man returns and the police proclaim he is actually their son as the fingerprints and other records match! And then we learn from the returned Mikey where he has been and how he got lost in this land named Terrenos and how there he was the Prophesized savior to defeat the God King Lore (ruler there) and he meets the Goblin Rook and the Gideons - Rya and Shavo. They battle different creatures like the Razorbeasts and it was so cool, the art there was just fantastic and trying to escape the Pale Rider, Kallista. In the present we see his father, Mikey and his brother Brennan team up to hunt one of the five mages who escaped Terrenos named Ward and when they do, they find he has control over plants and its an epic battle, and when Mikey takes out the Flaming Sword (of Mount Blood) and defeats Ward, its just a sight to behold. But the twist is not everything is at it seems, there are a lot of mysteries here? Is Mikey a good guy? is his mission right? Whose the nevermind? Who are the five mages? What really is Terrenos and What is Rya doing here? So many questions, mysteries, suspense and all makes this book such a great read and the art is just mesmerizing to look at! A real treat infact! Fantastic read!
The art is gorgeous and really detailed and the colors pop off really well and compliment the writing. This maybe Williamsons best work to date.
The art is gorgeous and really detailed and the colors pop off really well and compliment the writing. This maybe Williamsons best work to date.
March 21, 2021
A young boy lost is in the woods, transported to a fantasy realm and returns as a demon possessed "hero." Good artwork. Complex story dragged down a bit by very annoying feuding parents subplot. Interested to see where this goes in the next installment.
May 31, 2018
Pretty solid fantasy affair. Boy goes missing, is found back in earth after returning from a fantasy world, but hes ages and some skilled warrior. The twists are a little predictable but its still a fun read. Going to give the 2nd volume a go to see if they develop some more originality with the story.
March 4, 2018
Coming back to this after reading Volume 3. I thought I had written a review, but it seems as though I hadn't! It has been a while since I read this volume, but here's a quick and dirty roundup of what I enjoy in the series, and why I'd recommend it.
-Urban/Medieval fantasy: a good mix of classic fantastical adventure setting and urban settings. I really find that it meets my desire for a good fantasy comic, of which there are so few.
-Family drama: A boy goes missing and his father is pegged by the media as his murderer. The family is torn asunder when the boy returns a man who looks like he stepped out of a Game of Thrones cosplay contest.
-Great art: really crisp drawings with fantastic colouring.
-A fun story: Maus this is not. However, this series has thus far presented a fun action-adventure fantasy romp with an awesome mystery. Very readable!
-In short: I really look forward to Birthright's biannual collections and I think anyone who enjoys fantasy books or is in the market for a fun comic would dig it!
-Urban/Medieval fantasy: a good mix of classic fantastical adventure setting and urban settings. I really find that it meets my desire for a good fantasy comic, of which there are so few.
-Family drama: A boy goes missing and his father is pegged by the media as his murderer. The family is torn asunder when the boy returns a man who looks like he stepped out of a Game of Thrones cosplay contest.
-Great art: really crisp drawings with fantastic colouring.
-A fun story: Maus this is not. However, this series has thus far presented a fun action-adventure fantasy romp with an awesome mystery. Very readable!
-In short: I really look forward to Birthright's biannual collections and I think anyone who enjoys fantasy books or is in the market for a fun comic would dig it!
August 14, 2017
I'm thinking a 3.5 for this one, it was interesting but the overall concept, meh. I liked the mythology that's being created but the Earth connection is a little over bearing and the characters don't have that instant likable factor. I'll continue with the series but I'll be reading them during a gap with the large backlog I've accumulated over time. I had noticed this is part of Skybound comics so I can see why this story feels padded out, this is a Robert Kirkman company which specializes in long serial storylines. The storyline here just hasn't got that distinct feel that writer Rick Remender has nailed with these world building books. This is the first volume of four so there is an obvious appeal so I won't abandon ship yet, I just hope it can build a better character development so it's not so unrewarding.
September 9, 2015
Great start to a promising fantasy series! Cannot wait for the second volume! I love the back-and-forth storytelling, and the art is well done--the action sequences are fantastic.
February 18, 2017
Doesn't really do anything new and story is kind of bland.
February 17, 2020
Full of flat characters, cliches and plot coincidences.
Like a bad version of DIE.
Like a bad version of DIE.
July 17, 2017
Whoah whoah that was crazy!! I heard about this on booktube and really wanted to give it a try and I'm glad that I did. The characters are interesting and I'm really intrigued by the plot. You literally have no idea what's going to happen. I'm sure in future volumes we will learn what exactly happened to Mikey and what's this crazy adventure he's suddenly on!! If you haven't checked this out definitely give it a try.
March 8, 2015
Good writing and a promising story, I'm very curious about this devil-ish soul/creature that appears next to Mikey's shoulder.
August 20, 2015
Read the floppies. This is one of the better new Image serie with kick ass art and an original story.
September 28, 2015
wacky and fun throughout. never bored even for a second.
May 28, 2016
This was super fun!
A kid gets lost in the woods and ends up in another world, where he is part of a prophecy that says he's the hero that will defeat the Dark Lord. When he comes back to his world only a year has passed but for him many.
And his family well... you can say they are surprised he is not a little kid anymore. Great cliffhanger as well.
A kid gets lost in the woods and ends up in another world, where he is part of a prophecy that says he's the hero that will defeat the Dark Lord. When he comes back to his world only a year has passed but for him many.
And his family well... you can say they are surprised he is not a little kid anymore. Great cliffhanger as well.
March 21, 2016
If you aren't completely hooked by the first 30 pages, question your judgement.
February 6, 2017
Really enjoyed this first volume of a new series. Interesting time and plot twist. Great illustrations.
Look forward where they are taking this.
Look forward where they are taking this.
September 22, 2019
The story is not so original, but I like the artwork, even if it has it`s share of the troupes creatures from the typical fantasy setting.
April 15, 2015
Don't be fooled by the cover of this book, which makes it look like a stereotypical fantasy story; I admit that I was, and the only reason that I discovered differently was because I decided to give the title a shot since I obtained it as a free eARC via NetGalley. Williamson put a twist, or five, on the young-boy-becomes-fantasy-hero storyline. The story starts with, and is emotionally anchored in, the disappearance/loss of a family's younger son, Mikey. Williamson weaves the exploration of how losing a child can break apart a family into two alternating action-packed storylines, one about Mikey's experiences, adventures and challenges acclimating to the fantasy world that he initially stumbled into, and the second about an adult Mikey (since time passes more quickly in the fantasy world) on a quest that is allegedly to eliminate five mages and save this world. If that weren't enough of a twist, instead of becoming a hero as was supposedly his destiny, Mikey, somewhere along the way, decided to throw his lot in with the Big Bad Tyrant in order to be reunited with his family and knocked up a winged girl who is has followed him to Earth.
The issues in this trade allude to exploring several "broader" themes: why families break apart, grief at a lost child, PTSD, alcoholism and predestination, just to name a few, while having fantastic action, pacing and art (especially the landscapes, almost certainly better in full resolution digital or on paper), though the written dialog is somewhat clunky in a pulp-ish way at times. In short, Birthright shows a lot of promise (with some flaws), but there's a lot going on, and it remains to be seen whether or not Josh Williamson can live up to the possibilities that he's created in this first trade. I, for one, hope so, and would read the next story arc.
The issues in this trade allude to exploring several "broader" themes: why families break apart, grief at a lost child, PTSD, alcoholism and predestination, just to name a few, while having fantastic action, pacing and art (especially the landscapes, almost certainly better in full resolution digital or on paper), though the written dialog is somewhat clunky in a pulp-ish way at times. In short, Birthright shows a lot of promise (with some flaws), but there's a lot going on, and it remains to be seen whether or not Josh Williamson can live up to the possibilities that he's created in this first trade. I, for one, hope so, and would read the next story arc.
April 12, 2015
4.5.
I'm still a comic book noob and I dont have a lot of comic book experience. With that out of the way, I enjoyed this volume. I can't wait to purchase a copy and wait for volume 2
received an e-arc through Netgalley
I'm still a comic book noob and I dont have a lot of comic book experience. With that out of the way, I enjoyed this volume. I can't wait to purchase a copy and wait for volume 2
received an e-arc through Netgalley
Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews