What do you think?
Rate this book
The Portent #1 - 4
The Portent Volume 1
In a world set in its twilight days, this critically acclaimed series follows Milo, a deeply troubled warrior, on his quest for redemption through a land beset by demons and the spirits of the undead.
The demon Guishen is on the rise and soon Milo finds himself entangled in a web of deceit, catapulted into action as the saviour of the world. He accepts the burden for all the wrong reasons: to be a hero – to get the girl.
The demon Guishen is on the rise and soon Milo finds himself entangled in a web of deceit, catapulted into action as the saviour of the world. He accepts the burden for all the wrong reasons: to be a hero – to get the girl.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 2006
About the author
Peter Bergting
218 books17 followersPeter is a professional artist and writer. Fluid in Swedish and English, Peter has written three young adult novels in Swedish for a major publisher (Bokförlaget Semic), two American English, graphic novels (for Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics) as well as numerous short stories. Peter is published in the US, Sweden, Norway, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, and Italy.
His illustrations and art can be found all over the world. He has provided art and covers for authors such as J.R.R Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Jens Lapidus, and Astrid Lindgren to name but a few. In total, he has been featured in over 500 books.
He lives in a tiny town in Sweden with his wife, two daughters and three really strange cats.
His illustrations and art can be found all over the world. He has provided art and covers for authors such as J.R.R Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Jens Lapidus, and Astrid Lindgren to name but a few. In total, he has been featured in over 500 books.
He lives in a tiny town in Sweden with his wife, two daughters and three really strange cats.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 5, 2014
Re-reading this, the first volume in Swedish comics artist Peter Bergting's saga of The Portent, as a preparation for reading the new volume. I must admit that I liked this book more this time. It's a very dense story, and Bergting seems to have had ideas enough for a story at least twice as long. So, sometimes you feel that he has crammed much too much into into these few pages, repeatedly having to resort to the old trick of having the characters tell each others what's going on, in order to get all information transmitted to the reader.
The story work, though, and the art is beautiful. The hero Milo is rather generic, but the other characters all have personality and a unique design. This goes for the fantasy world that Bergting conjures up as well. We only get glimpses of this world, it's history, mythological creatures and so on, but you do get a feeling that there's more to it, a fuller background story that exists in the mind of Bergting, ripe for the picking in future stories.
All-in-all, I can very well see what all the fuss was about, when an (almost) completely unknown Swedish comics artist pops up and delivers this. Though a bit ruff around the edges, there's a lot of potential here. You might even say that it's a... portent of things to come.
The story work, though, and the art is beautiful. The hero Milo is rather generic, but the other characters all have personality and a unique design. This goes for the fantasy world that Bergting conjures up as well. We only get glimpses of this world, it's history, mythological creatures and so on, but you do get a feeling that there's more to it, a fuller background story that exists in the mind of Bergting, ripe for the picking in future stories.
All-in-all, I can very well see what all the fuss was about, when an (almost) completely unknown Swedish comics artist pops up and delivers this. Though a bit ruff around the edges, there's a lot of potential here. You might even say that it's a... portent of things to come.
July 11, 2021
Was stimmte hier nur nicht? Ich habe den Comic so runter gerattert, völlig ohne Emotionen. Das war nichts ... Dabei gab es Geister, Fischdämonen, Untote, Tentakel - aber die Story hat mich komplett kalt gelassen. Und dabei waren die Zeichnungen einfach bombastisch. So schade.
December 31, 2017
Den svenska översättningen av Peter Bergtings ursprungligen Image-publicerade The Portent: Duende.
Som ett långtida fan av serier måste jag ändå erkänna att jag alltid har känt ett visst motstånd mot svenska serier (och man måste nog ändå få lov att lite stolt kalla Bergting en svensk serieskapare). Missförstå mig rätt, det har givetvis gjorts mycket bra, framför allt inom vass satir á la Christensens Arne Anka (som är en personlig favorit), men en alltför stor del av det svenska utbudet, t.o.m. en del av det jag faktiskt kan uppskatta, plågas av en estetik som tycks sträva mot det visuellt mindre vackra. På något plan har den svenska seriemarknaden (då ej översatt produktion från USA eller Europa) hemsökts av svartvita, självbiografiska historier som är allt annat än en njutning för ögat.
Enter Bergting! Givet att The Portent riktades mot en amerikansk marknad, men denna underbart vackra fantasyserie visar att svenska serieskapare ta mig tusan kan göra vältecknade serier de också (två andra som gör sig påminda i den kontexten är Ola Skogäng och Kim W. Andersson).
The Portent är en vacker, klassisk high fantasy-berättelse med djupt mytiska dimensioner. Utan att vilja avslöja för mycket kan man säga att det handlar om en hjältes sökande efter sin plats, i en väldigt klassisk form. Mycket läsvärt!
Som ett långtida fan av serier måste jag ändå erkänna att jag alltid har känt ett visst motstånd mot svenska serier (och man måste nog ändå få lov att lite stolt kalla Bergting en svensk serieskapare). Missförstå mig rätt, det har givetvis gjorts mycket bra, framför allt inom vass satir á la Christensens Arne Anka (som är en personlig favorit), men en alltför stor del av det svenska utbudet, t.o.m. en del av det jag faktiskt kan uppskatta, plågas av en estetik som tycks sträva mot det visuellt mindre vackra. På något plan har den svenska seriemarknaden (då ej översatt produktion från USA eller Europa) hemsökts av svartvita, självbiografiska historier som är allt annat än en njutning för ögat.
Enter Bergting! Givet att The Portent riktades mot en amerikansk marknad, men denna underbart vackra fantasyserie visar att svenska serieskapare ta mig tusan kan göra vältecknade serier de också (två andra som gör sig påminda i den kontexten är Ola Skogäng och Kim W. Andersson).
The Portent är en vacker, klassisk high fantasy-berättelse med djupt mytiska dimensioner. Utan att vilja avslöja för mycket kan man säga att det handlar om en hjältes sökande efter sin plats, i en väldigt klassisk form. Mycket läsvärt!
September 8, 2016
The story is original and interesting from start to finish. The art is even better. Peter Berting's style is in the vein of Hellboy's Mike Mignola. His colors are fantastic as evident by the great cover. The color palettes he uses build a mood much like Dave Stewart (whom I consider to be be one of the best colorists working today) does with Hellboy. This guy is talented. I only wish that this volume was longer, although the way he writes I'm sure later volumes would fill in the details.
UPDATE: The follow up, Portent: Ashes, will be out later this month (June 2014).
UPDATE: The follow up, Portent: Ashes, will be out later this month (June 2014).
September 9, 2018
Re-read. I remember being disappointed that this wasn't longer and fleshed out.
Now it reminds me more of a Mignola influence. Lin and Milo were the focus and ignoring the narrative requirements to explain every side character and backstory seems more deliberate, like a way to emphasize their feelings.
Still totally want more volumes.
Now it reminds me more of a Mignola influence. Lin and Milo were the focus and ignoring the narrative requirements to explain every side character and backstory seems more deliberate, like a way to emphasize their feelings.
Still totally want more volumes.
November 15, 2023
Fin magisk historia. Vill gärna bara stanna kvar i hans illustrerade värld. Peter skriver själv att han inte skissar så mycket vilket jag tror ger berättelsen en fin nerv som bara riktigt duktiga illustratörer kan lyckas med.
December 12, 2024
OMG THAT WAS SO LAME.
The story makes no sense at all lol.
The story makes no sense at all lol.
December 29, 2014
It seems as if every month when I go into the comic shop, I discover a new science fiction, fantasy, or horror title. These genres are getting better and better treatment in comic books. They are done so well and there are so many of them that you could happily spend your time reading only SFF and horror comics and have no time left over for novels in those genres. Just last night I read an excellent fantasy title: The Portent: Duende by Peter Bergting.
It has some of the best art I’ve ever seen. In fact, the art is so good, the one person I mentioned it to today looked it up online and purchased it immediately after... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
It has some of the best art I’ve ever seen. In fact, the art is so good, the one person I mentioned it to today looked it up online and purchased it immediately after... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
June 13, 2014
This is a wonderful dark and twisted story. Great illustrations and a depth you don't always find in a comic book.
Before I read this I've read the swedish book-series "De dödas rike" intended for a younger audience than this one. Since "de dödas rike" takes place in the same world and explanes what happened before this one it really helped. The characters was given more depth that way. I think you could read only Portent but I also think you would miss a lot of aspects of the story if you did.
Before I read this I've read the swedish book-series "De dödas rike" intended for a younger audience than this one. Since "de dödas rike" takes place in the same world and explanes what happened before this one it really helped. The characters was given more depth that way. I think you could read only Portent but I also think you would miss a lot of aspects of the story if you did.
August 8, 2012
Det var ett tag sedan jag läste "The Portent" och jag måste erkänna att jag inte minns vad den handlade om... Jag minns bara att det fanns en bra anledning till att läsa den, men att jag inte till fullo uppskattade verket. Vi får se vad som händer om jag springer ihop med den igen?!?
December 25, 2014
Helt klart något av det bästa jag har läst av Bergting hittills!
Read my whole review at Book Obsession
Read my whole review at Book Obsession
June 20, 2014
Living with the dead
A warrior walks into a coven seeking guidance and ends up fighting warriors in the land of the dead. This is the opening of a new mysterious world where the dead exist as a community outside the land of the living.
A warrior walks into a coven seeking guidance and ends up fighting warriors in the land of the dead. This is the opening of a new mysterious world where the dead exist as a community outside the land of the living.
September 18, 2012
Mycket vackert illustrerad, en bra historia och intressanta karaktärer...men av någon anledning griper den inte riktigt tag i mig.
November 20, 2018
Berättelsen ligger mer på två stjärnor omen däremot gillar jag den tecknande stilen.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews