I, like anyone who loves reading stories, loves a good surprise, especially when it is a twist ending. The writer has you going one way making their audience believe the story will go the same way it always does. Then, the predictable instance betrays itself and there’s a moment when the audience feels both astonished and gratified.

More often these days, writers are employing this device to mixed results.  One of the first times, I remembered being both swindled but amazed was when I read Beowulf. The creature our protagonist is brought to destroy was the architect of everything going on in that kingdom. Not too many times has an author expertly weaved a narrative to only pull the rug from the audience’s feet. In the debut issue of No’Madd: The City Of Empty Towers, we meet a new protagonist, whose fierce loyalty leads him down a dark path, where the truth may be more than he can handle.

We are taken to the lands of Ith, where our protagonist, No’Madd , who works for the Goddess, Tyon, looks to prove his devotion, by fleeing his home, wife, and son to find invaders, intent on wreaking havoc on Tyon’s domain. So, he travels to an old citadel, where one of Tyon’s ancient enemies, the warlords who chose to defy her, where their ghosts haunt this fortress in what is called The Steep. A he waits out the horde of invaders to see what their next move is, he revisits in his mind, everything that leads him to this moment, when the first invaders crashed in his village, how his family reluctantly let him go and how his fealty to Tyon made him the best weapon against these invaders. As he looks to gain better ground, he soon realizes he has an enemy hiding in plain sight, looking to secure his demise, where an arrow is sent his direction, he soon realizes it was to draw the invaders to him and unleash a horde onto. By issue’s end, he eludes the invaders but is faced soon with a heartbreaking betrayal and more questions than he could ever imagine.

Overall, a great introduction to a new hero. One whose devotion, much Ned Stark in Game Of Thrones, may be his cardinal sin. The story by Andrew Kafoury is dense, well-characterized, and intelligent. The art by the creative team is stunning. Altogether, an exceptional debut that gives comics fans a new hope for an entertaining adventure.

Story: Andrew Kafoury
Art: Aaron McConnell, Lee Moyer, and Tom Orzechowski
Story: 10 Art: 9.6 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy