As a fan of the show Man in the High Castle, I was sad to see it end. The book the series was based on mesmerized me as a preteen. Philip K. Dick’s classic imagined a world where evil won and factions of good souls fought against the dying of the light. Fast forward, to today, where dystopia is no longer a farfetched concept but a relevant reflection of today’s ills.

Even something considered high fantasy like Game Of Thrones tends to speak the inextricable complexities of the human condition. This is why the show’s finale gave us a complex view of a morally bankrupt world where the lines of morality are no longer blurred but simply ignored. In today’s world this seems more reality than fiction. In one of Noir Cessar’s first offerings, we get the debut chapter of Arms Of The Dragon, where a pair of street orphans must adapt or overcome.

We meet Shou, a young kid, who is exploring life through comics, ones he got from his big brother, and whose home life seems normal, as his parents own a restaurant, where a local gang leader is trying shake his father down for protection, something, his family feeds they don’t require. We also meet his best friend, Jun, who feels more like another sibling than a friend. Things change for the family one night when the same gang looking to shake the restaurant for protection money, kills Shou’s big brother. By the issue’s end, Shou confronts the gang leader, leading to a standoff that forces Shou to grow up in an instance.

Overall, an engaging crime noir story that gives us another epic to follow. The story by Marcus Johnson and John Lawrence is well developed and harrowing. The art by Chris Krady is beautiful. Altogether, a story that separates itself from other crime stories in its first chapter.

Story: Marcus Johnson and John Lawrence Art: Chris Krady
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy