Birthright tells the story of a small boy that suddenly disappears, and the fallout from the loss to his family, only for a surprising revelation to occur a year later.  The readers working their way through the first pages of this book might think that they are getting into something like from the movies Prisoners of The Lovely Bones, but the story here departs on quick tangent to something else.  There are in fact a couple of plot twists as the story moves from a modern setting to one based more on fantasy in a story sort of reminiscent of Narnia, save that the magical kingdom is not as welcoming.

The beginning of the story in this issue might seem a bit generic and clichéd and the middle pages might seem a bit rushed, but it is really in the last pages where this story comes together.  In terms of the setting there is little new here, but in terms of the concept and presentation and context, this is an engaging story.  Industry veteran writer Josh Williamson is the reason behind this, fitting this comic together almost perfectly, with logical twists one after the other, saving one big one right for the end, but never being too constrained by the limitations of the length.  This first chapter is a story built for a comic book length presentation, and Williamson uses it to his advantage.

It is not really possible to expand on what occurs here without spoiling the outcome of the first issue, and because of this, I can only seek pity on the readers flipping through at a comic store, skimming to see if this is for them.  Looking at only the first few pages is probably not enough of a catch to grab in readers, but those skimming the whole issue will ruin the fun.  As it is, this is a book worth checking out, promising not only a few twists in its setup but also more to come and those with a little bit of faith in the writer will be rewarded.

Story: Joshua Williamson Art: Andrei Bressan
Story: 8.4 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review