The blight continues to spread across Solothus in By The Horns: Dark Earth #8 as the Augernaut repairs near completion and Yun Ma’s plan for the continent begins to take shape. Across the ocean in Awahakan, Shanora Zeland her companions stir up trouble while searching for a way to catch up to Elodie.

I’ve found I don’t read as many comics as I used to these days, and yet despite my waning interest (or lack of time, which ultimately leads me to prioritize other things), I am always excited to read the next offering from Markisan Naso, Jason Muhr and Steve Canon, the writer, artist/letterer and colourist of By The Horns: Dark Earth.

Whereas the last issue was effectively an illustrated journal, By The Horns: Dark Earth #8 reads as an anthology with how Naso spends a few pages on each of the story threads that have been running throughout the issue. Given that the comic focuses on four different sets of characters in four specific chunks of the book, you would think that there wouldn’t be a lot of story progression. You could be forgiven for thinking that – if you were unfamiliar with the creative team. Naso and Muhr are experts of their craft and can wrench your heart, make you care about a villain and expose hypocrisy in fewer pages than your average comic.

By The Horns: Dark Earth #7 was a message of support, and By The Horns: Dark Earth #8 is a comic about choice. It is a reminder that you might not be able to choose your circumstances, but you can almost always control how you react to them (I’m not taking credit for those words – that’s the ethos of Justin Scarred’s Quest for Positivity, and I felt it very apt to repeat here given the story we’re talking about). Naso explores within this book how your choices, and especially a dedication to vengeance, can lead you to places you don’t want to be.

Because the comic features four different threads, Muhr and Canon have the task of helping the reader easily differentiate between the locations. While there’s a location update on two of the story thread changes (though you don’t really need the name of the new location to discern that the setting has changed, such is the clarity of the art), the other is met by a very distinct single panel introduction.

By The Horns: Dark Earth #8 really advances the plot in the series, building from the emotional weight of the previous issue with several quick chunks of story. One of my favourite things about this series is the variety that the creative team offer from comic to comic, and they don’t disappoint here.

Story: Markisan Naso Art/Lettering: Jason Muhr Colors: Steve Canon
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review. Alex also purchased a physical copy of all comics referenced within the review.

Purchase: Scout Comics – Zeus Comics

In By The Horns: Dark Earth #7, stranded in the northern tundra of Ataraxy after narrowly escaping death, a weary Elodie and her team travel toward the Arctic Sleep to face the sorceress, Feng Po. But are they already too late to stop her from stealing all the magic on the continent?

It’s always a good day when a new By The Horns issue hits my inbox. What I wasn’t really expecting, or indeed prepared for, was an issue quite like this.

Naso and Muhr have structured the comic in such a way that it’s an illustrated journal from Evelyn’s perspective. It’s a book that highlight’s the companion’s journey through Evelyn’s, uh, point of view (I wanted to say “eye” but she’s a giant eyeball so that felt a bit too on the nose with an accidental pun), whilst also serving as a really good jumping on point for new readers to By The Horns as a full series; the brilliant part is that despite catching you up, it doesn’t actually spoil the previous events any more than it absolutely must. The issue also acts as a great refresher for those of us who have been reading since the beginning given the break between the sixth and seventh issues.

Writer Markisan Naso, artist Jason Muhr, and colorist Steve Canon deliver an absolutely flawless comic. While the only voice heard this issue is Evelyn’s, through her Naso delivers a powerful message of love and support for those going through dark times. We read how Evelyn, now in a better place, reflects back upon her past and admits the struggles she went through; indeed, there are times where you know she knows what she’s doing, but through Naso’s writing there’s a genuine sense of her being unable to do anything about it. She’s stuck. She doesn’t know what to do or how to get out. It’s here that we see the impact Elodie, Sajen and the unicorns Rigby and Zoso have had on Evelyn’s life, and the hope that they bring her. It’s a story that’ll resonate with those who have felt alone, or that there’s a weight bearing down on them. It’s a story about finding the light in the people who love you.

Because the story is told by way of a journal, Muhr has free reign to draw… whatever it is he wanted to draw, which allows him to draw some stunning vistas of a new continent, and this being a fantasy comic, there are so many wonderful things to look at in this book that it really deserves a third reading just to absorb Muhr’s artwork. As good as Muhr is, though, it’s Steve Canon’s colouring that makes the pages pop. Night skies are vibrant, the grasses are verdant and the violence bloody. The artwork matches the beauty of the story, if not the exact events being recounted. Frankly, it’s stunning.

By The Horns: Dark Earth #7 is one of the best comics I have read in a long time, and whether you’re reading this as a standalone story (which you can), or as part of the full series… either way you’re in for an absolutely amazing time.

Story: Markisan Naso Art/Lettering: Jason Muhr Colors: Steve Canon
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review. Alex also purchased a physical copy of all comics referenced within the review.

Check out the By The Horns Kickstarter for an exclusive hardcover of the first volume of By The Horns: Dark Earth.

Purchase: Scout Comics – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Elodie, Sajen, and Evelyn land on the continent of Yalastra and reunite with their unicorn friends Zoso and Rigby. While they hug and prepare to track down pure magic in the Modtlomb jungle, the blight continues to spread on Solothus. Haru, concerned about the possible resurrection of the Augernaut, makes a rogue decision to take the fight to Yun Ma in the Middle Fields, despite resistance from the people of Wayfarer.

I somehow missed reviewing the last issue of By The Horns: Dark Earth, and only honestly noticed this when I picked up the physical copy at my LCS a week or two after it had been released (I had a hectic month, and so didn’t make it down on release day – and usually don’t know what I’m picking up till I actually get the issues in hand), and so I ended up reading both the 5th and 6th issues in one sitting.

Which was glorious.

Writer Markisan Naso, artist Jason Muhr, and Colorist Steve Cannon haven’t missed a beat with this series. The sixth issue is a vibrantly beautiful issue that underscores the point that comics don’t need to eschew colours in order to tell a story that has darker undertones, and Cannon pulls out all the stops to help Muhr’s artwork pop all the louder across each and every page. I can’t understate just how colourful By The Horns #6 is; this is a comic that really stands out against others when you flick through the pages (whether that’s the preview pages, or the comic itself when you’re holding it in your hands at you LCS).

Naso’s story is a freight train this issue as it flows from scene to scene without leaving any room for filler; this issue sees the reuniting the original cast of characters, pulling together an antagonistic crew of folks who have very legitimate and believable reasons for wanting to stop Elodie from her quest to return magic to Solothus. There’s a lot more to the comic than this brief summary thing, and I don’t want to go too far into it because it’s worth experiencing somewhat blind, so suffice it to say that Markisan Naso’s writing has been consistently brilliant throughout the series and that he remains one of the few writers whose work I’ll buy without question.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you REALLY can’t go wrong with this series; it’s so much fun – and yet emotionally heavy at the same time. With the next issue coming out in March, the wait is going to be a long one.

Story: Markisan Naso Art/Lettering: Jason Muhr Colors: Steve Cannon
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy

Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review. Alex also purchased a physical copy of all comics referenced within the review.

Purchase: Scout Comics – Zeus Comics – TFAW