Head Lopper, Vol. 4: Head Lopper & the Quest for Mulgrid's Stair

Head Lopper (Collected Editions) #4

by Andrew MacLean, Jordie Bellaire (Colourist)

With high stakes action and big imagination, Norgal and Agatha embark on a quest to find an invisible staircase to the heavens, atop which sits Mulgrid the All-Knowing. With dark assassins everywhere, Norgal hopes the aid of Mulgrid will give him the upper hand. Slashing their way through gorgons, bombing their way past gargantuan spiders, and navigating the politics of a kingdom on the brink of collapse, the fellowship must make teamwork a priority to survive.

Collects HEAD LOPPER #13-16

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Horror, Action, Comic Book

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Massachusetts based comic artist, Andrew R. MacLean is the creator of the SNIP SNIP, Head Lopper, and Daruma. His work can also be found in Department O, Colonial Souls, Meatspace, Outlaw Territories, Bad Karma, and others.

Reviews

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is a little too dense. It’s a bit of a slog to get through, but the rewards definitely overpower that. Great world building, good action, and I’m starting to like the art style shift. I think this series definitely peaked with Volume 2, but I’m really excited to see where this goes in the future.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recovers a bit from the third volume, but its still too much D+D style lore and not enough action. The artwork never got to the heights MacLean achieved in the first volume which is quite a shame. The series started off as a strong Mignola/Lovecraft/Conan comic but fizzled out for me about half-way through.

[Václav · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4,4 of 5 for great sword & sorcery with lightness, humour and bucketful of action)
I liked Head Lopper since day one. It has that Conan-ish setting but the world is simpler but also vivid and rich. There is great fun in his stories - both from humour and action. And this (continuation of) story keeps the bar. Something new, something old, a lot of adventuring, action and interesting dialogues. MacLean is boss because, despite the art, which is very cartoonish/simplistic (but work perfectly for this comic), it feels so "real".
The only major downfall of Head Lopper is the tempo of release. I just can't wait for the next part of the story!

[Harley Gesford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of my favorite comics ever. Now the table is set and Norgal, with his new buds Goat and Brishka, with Agatha the Blue Witch now stumbles up the Nine Immortals and their ever going battle with the Gods of Narschlahn. Though MacGuffins were abound this was the best of the volumes I read.
Lore galore is all I can say. Can’t wait for the next installment.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Issue 13: Read 10/31/20 5 stars
Issue 14: Read 03/03/21 5 stars
Issue 15: Read 05/16/21 4 stars
Issue 16: Read 08/29/21 5 stars

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wracamy do trochę mniej skomplikowanej fabuły niż w poprzednim tomie, ale z grubsza patrząc, jest tu wszystko, za co te komiksy kocham do tego stopnia, że zostawiam na półce, mimo że generalnie serii się pozbywam. Kreska MacLeana i te wszystkie zabiegi graficzne żywcem wyjęte z jakiejś konsolowej sieczki, plus postacie (z Agathą na czele) - miłość

[Hugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Previous praise and criticism stands (great world-building, mythology, and characters on one hand; clumsy storytelling, too-cartoony art, and crappy hand-lettering on the other) but with the addition that putting sound effects in caption boxes is a ridiculous conceit, and it would be just great if the letterer could figure out how to consistently remove the crossbar I from dialogue balloons.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude - I'm all in on Head Lopper. Every book includes the following: Head lopping. Interesting, diverse characters. Unique locations and settings. A dozen jokes, most of which land. Cool artistic elements, both in the drawings and the structural elements of the novel (paneling, gutters, lettering, etc.). A talking, magical, lopped head, which I can't describe without spoiling things.

Book four of the series was not as good as Volumes 1 or 3 (in my opinion) but better than Volume 2, and still great. If the first three books were exemplars of pacing, then this book is an exemplar of dramatic irony. There was a moment (I won't say which) where I was genuinely tense, shocked by the turn of events and concerned for the characters.

This book continues to develop a Big Bad introduced in volume 3 and sets up the next major arc of the series. Though the villain is very cool, his reveal felt underwhelming. The art, particularly in the backgrounds, during his reveal, just felt lackluster compared to everything before it. It's a rare disappointment from MacLean.

Once again, excellent book I can't wait to re-read. I'd recommend it to my friends Tom, Matt, and Russ, and my Dad.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most Moorcockian (Moorcockish?) volume yet complete with maps, excerpts from ancient scripture, and a divine hit list. I ain't mad at it.

[cumulonimbus99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE HEAD LOPPER! YOU LOP THAT HEAD, MAN!!

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 5 out of 5]

2. Turdan sonra şunu kesinlikle söyleyebilirim bu seri ookuduğum en iyi sword and sorcery işlerinden biri olarak kalacak bende.

Son ciltte kahramanlarımız Norgal'ın the Executioner olarak bilindiği zalim bir kralın yönettiği kente gidiyorlar.Tabi geçmişiyle övünen bir karakter olmayan Norgal utanç duysa da bunu telafi etmesini biliyor kralın oğlunun planına yardım ederek.

Ama asıl olay bambaşka tabi.Sahi Head Lopper Agatha'yı neden sürekli yanında gezdiriyordu? Lady Veronia 3. Ciltte yanında taşı dediği için mi? Ya da neden birileri sürekli Agatha'nın peşinde? Artık biliyoruz (yani en azından ben biliyorum size söylemeyeceğim) ve olay bambaşka bir hâl alıyor.

Umarım Andrew Maclean en kısa sürede devamını çizmeye döner çünkü daha muhtemelen anlatacaklarının yarısını anlatmış.Kesinlikle iyi çizgi roman seven herkese tavsiye edeceğim bir iş Head Lopper.Yavaş olsa da biraz eğer yeterince keyif almaya bakıp sabrederseniz sonunda muhteşem bir okuma zevki sizi bekliyor olacaktır.

[Will Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Another fun, bloody romp through the world of Head Lopper! People familiar with the fantasy genre will recognize a lot of famous monsters and set pieces, but the setting is well fleshed out and gives us some more insight into the battle weary Norgal. I always enjoy Agatha’s wacky banter, but I really enjoyed her skits with Goat, who’s equally ridiculous. They make a fun duo and hope to see more jokes with them in the future! Lots of interesting lore and truly exciting build-up for Norgal’s encounter with the people who’ve been hunting him. A must read for those who’ve been keeping up with the series.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this may be the best volume yet. The writing feels improved upon. Dialogue is stronger. Character interactions are more fun to read. I think having more characters to play off of one another allows Norgal’s stoicism some room to not feel so one note (and the character seems to be loosening up a bit as well). Nice to get some more backstory for him, and the mythology and world building as the series goes on keeps me coming back. As always, the art is great. Perfect mix of D&D source book art meets the simple line work and uniformity of a strip from the funny papers. Definitely recommend for those who like fantasy and adventure, but don’t take it too seriously.

[Alex Sarll]

Looking back at my reviews of the previous volumes, I always said much the same thing; generic sword & sorcery premise saved by the energy of the execution. This time, though, the energy seems lacking, despite plenty of monsters, explosions and, of course, decapitation. I wondered if maybe I was just in a funny mood, but the Rumble crossover at the end had still got it, so perhaps it was more the way that the main story was getting increasingly caught up in the mythos the series has by now had time to accumulate.

[Makana Geppert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great adventure with Agatha and Norgal. I deeply appreciate that the lore is being further developed even in these later volumes. The team has continued to grow, with Brishka and Goat playing larger roles, and I really liked the introduction of Tarf and his personal story arc. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the Immortals fare as Norgal tracks them down, and I hope to see Hexalon make a return in the future.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusta que parezca que ya se ha formado un buen grupo en torno a Norgal y Agatha y que se establezca mejor la ruta argumental aunque se den más estupendos altos en el camino como esta trama palaciega familiar con quest de objetos mágicos. Andrew MacLean tiene totalmente cogido el punto a esta propuesta. Al punto de tener aquí un simpático cruce con RUMBLE en el cual podemos comprobar lo único que es Norgal a pesar del arquetipo barbudo y con patas que es desde la primera viñeta.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is dense! There's a city that Norgal has history in, and our cast come upon it while seeking the demigod of truth to find out who is chasing them. Lots of lore in this one, which is cool, but barely any cool monsters or interesting fight scenes. I fear the comic is becoming more world-building, and building into... I don't know, what most fantasy worlds end up being like. There's some cool ideas here but not the same spark as the first volume.

[Travis Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid volume of Head Lopper. I will say it it borrowing from LOTR pretty heavily but I don't mind, what fantasy story doesn't borrow from LOTR from time to time. Anyways Norgal and crew are on a new mission to recover two ancient weapons. We get some deeper insight into the god hierarchy which I loved, big picture stuff. Lots of great action and story, never a dull moment. bring on vol.5

[Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is what it is, but in the end the real star of the show is the simple, fast and quirky fantasy art with an equally quirky world and characters. One can see how MacLean has had fun while drawing and designing it. And I had fun reading it. Job well done - again!

[Jonathan Pavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thiss volume was good, and some good ebs and flows. I feel like I’m still comparing the later volumes to the first. It was very novel and flowed so well. Im hoping more focus between norgal and Agatha.

[Luke John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the last volume, but still of a lower quality than the first two. Head Lopper works best when the plots are simple, the goals clear. With added mystery/intrigue this format is only diluted, sadly. Still a great book though, just one I wish would return to simpler times.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story heads for the stars (by way of magical stairs) and things get a little more cosmic than other Head Lopper trades so far, which would be fine but some of the mystical stuff is not as good as the down to earth Conan-style stuff. I do really like this series!

[Tee-Jay Ndjoze-Siririka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norgal Searches for The List

Norgal, Agatha and his cohorts are looking for the key 🔑 that would give them ultimate power but also their interests align with Tarf the prince who wants to overthrow his father... oh it gets juicy

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Head Lopper since the first one. MacLean’s artistic storytelling has gotten tighter and the overall story is simpler and tighter.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s fun, I really enjoy the series.

[Dionne Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love the epic tale.

[Micha Hershman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and fantastic, like the three previous volumes In this series.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected this to be quite fun, and it certainly was.

[Michael Rancic · Rating 4 out of 5]

so damn fun. great art, humour, and storytelling.