In a fantastic world far from our own, an ancient magic spell almost split the world in two and left an endless ravine in the north. One man, Nebezial Asheri, driven by the deaths of his wife and daughters will attempt to reclaim that magic and bring his loved ones back to life. The forces of an entire city, Paladia, will rise to oppose him, but his greatest foes will be a ragtag band of an outcast wizard, a dragonrider, and their allies.

Created by the amazing artist Stjepan Sejic and writer Ron Marz, Ravine is a brand new creator-owned comic from Top Cow. Ravine is a fantasy epic and it’s clear from this first volume we’re in for a wild and fun ride.

To me, fantasy stories generally have two types. There’s the action focused story that’s more about hack and slash and character development and history is in the background. Then, there’s the rich fantasy stories with deep background and lots of political intrigue. While there’s definitely action in this first volume, it’s focus is more on that second type of story. Here we’re bombarded with lots of names and connections and more political intrigue than an entire season of Game of Thrones. That’s wrapped up in beautiful art that makes you linger on each page.

Ravine is an epic about the lengths one man will go to to reconstruct his family, and the forces of good who must stop him at all costs. This first volume sets all of that up. If you’re looking for a complete story, look elsewhere, it’s clear this is just a first chapter. And there’s a lot to set up. Many characters, their relationships and the “rules” of this world are all established. We’re taken through ceremonies and history and there’s the political intrigue I spoke out earlier. It’s a lot to take in, in one reading, but luckily there’s also an appendix in the back to keep folks straight and make everything a bit clearer for those that might be confused. I’ll admit I referenced it a bit while reading to keep it all clear.

But, the story isn’t totally confusing, it’s a fairly straightforward “gathering of the good guys” with lots of moving parts. On the flip side the villain is also growing their forces as well. Together it’s classic fantasy with so many interesting parts it makes you want to read more and more. And that’s the bad part, I finished the first volume immediately wanting to read the next to see what happens next.

On the surface the story is a nice fantasy tale of band of misfit good guys taking on the big bad guy, but just beneath the surface there’s political plays between kings, leaders and an all powerful church. One can wonder if there’s some commentary purposely fit in there, and for me it’s very welcomed. The machinations add to the greater story as you have no idea where loyalties lie. None of it is resolved in this first volume, it too is setup for what comes next.

As a whole, the first volume of this series has it all for fantasy fans, mixed with beautiful art that’ll make you drool while you read. If that’s your type of story, it’s an absolute buy. I myself, will be counting down the days until I get to continue the adventure in the second volume.

By: Stjepan Sejic and Ron Marz

Story: 8 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy

Ron Marz provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review