Barbaric: The Harvest Blades

Barbaric (single issues) #4

by Michael Moreci, Nathan Gooden (Artist), Richard Pace (Artist)

Like a punch in the privates, BARBARIC is back! Bloodier and more irreverent than ever. In this one-shot, Owen, the barbarian cursed to do good, is forced out of hiding and back to his old B.S.! A whole bunch of violence, ethically approved, of course, by his moral compass, the talking Axe! Find out for yourself why Entertainment Weekly, Thrillist, Screen Rant, and a whole bunch of other people called BARBARIC one of the best comics of 2021.

The first of many one-shots that further explore the world of Barbaric, whose second arc, Axe To Grind, arrives in July!

43 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2022

About the author

Michael Moreci is a bestselling comics author and novelist. His original works include the space adventure novels Black Star Renegades and We Are Mayhem, as well as the comic series Wasted Space, The Plot, Hexagon, Curse, Archangel 8, and more. The Plot appeared on numerous best of 2019 lists, and Wasted Space has been hailed as one of the best comics of the past decade. Moreci's comic trilogy Roche Limit was called one of the best sci-fi comics of all-time by Paste Magazine, and Black Star Renegades was an Audie Award finalist for best sci-fi of 2018.

Moreci has also written for Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and the DC universe--including the YA graphic novel The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Story. He's also adapted Eoin Colfer's bestselling Artemis Fowl series into graphic novels.

He lives outside Chicago with his family.

Reviews

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I hugely disappointed at how little vampires will have to do with this arc given how quickly they were dealt with in this issue? Yes. So very yes. But Axe was still Axe so I love it, even with all that wasted potential for a fun, vampy series. There's also more introspection in this issue than I expected. Owen and Steel both have more issues than either of them want to admit or face after their years as barbarians and what came after, but this arc will apparently be making them face their demons. Or demon, in the form of Gladius, an Orc they obviously have history with. I'm interested in seeing where that goes, even if Axe falls more into the background so that the other characters can develop. But I don't want Axe forgotten if things are taking a more serious turn and I do not want another great idea, like Owen vs Vampires, to be teased then sped over again in this series. I'm loving this so far and committed to following the series, but see how readership could drop after this issue.

[Robert Hultman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to like this one and tried a couple times to get into it. I like the art and style and imagery, and the story ideas are good, or at least have potential. Though the dialogue especially is lame. It seems like an attempt at Army of Darkness style humor, but just ends up not funny and inauthentic for the setting.

[Rick Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a good time with the first volume of Barbaric, so figured I'd check out this one-shot. This was not good. The jokes didn't land, the characters are dull, and even the artwork seems rushed. The overall plot was also exceedingly forgettable.

[uzhuj · Rating 1 out of 5]

And with this I am done. Tried to like the Barbaric series, but it's lacking something to make me want to go on. Coloring is good on most parts, some of the linework is quite good, but the story and everything else just falls flat. Eh

[Christoph Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 of 5, there is no other choice. Barbaric is simply amazing, it's different, it's fun, so much fun.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It sucks sometimes to be controlled by a curse that makes you have to go with people that ask you to help them. The tables are turned twice.