Tag Archives: nathan gooden

Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 continues the off the rails adventure

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Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1

Barbaric is back and headed straight to hell in an all-new arc so big and bloody, it’s getting an extra issue! Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 kicks off a whole new chapter that has Soren and Steel crossing paths with someone else from the barbarian’s past. Who’s now carrying Axe? The off the rails adventure continues with a new mission.

Written by Michael Moreci, Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 is not a bad place to start for new readers while it also brings together a lot of what has come in the past. Owen is somewhere… and Soren and Steel are attempting to find and rescue him. That has them dealing with rather sketchy characters that eventually leads them right into an old acquaintance of Owen’s.

Moreci keeps the familiar formula of solid action, lots of laughs, and characters you both feel a little bad for and also want to punch. They all have their quirks and none of them art particularly totally good in the hero sense. These are the characters that get out of hand when the dungeon master doesn’t have control over the game. They take things over the top with an attitude that a little violence and fighting goes a long way. Mix in some laughs and the result is a really entertaining fantasy ride that has delivered with every volume and release.

The art continues to be top notch. Nathan Gooden‘s pencils, Addison Duke‘s color, and Jim Campbell‘s lettering all come together for a comic that delivers the action visually and knows how to punch up the laughs with smart imagery. Axe particular works so well due to the exaggeration provided and the situations the axe is put in. Want to shut him up? Smash the axe into a tree. It’s a subtle joke that is pulled off due to how it’s portrayed in the panel.

Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 continues the fantasy series with a whole new adventure and the same old attitude. If you like your fantasy tales juiced up to 11, this is a series that’s consistently for you. In a glut of extreme fantasy stories, this series has continually delivered and stood out with a great mix of action, humor, and attitude.

Story: Michael Moreci Art: Nathan Gooden
Color: Addison Duke Letterer: Jim Campbell
Story: 8.1 Art: 8.1 Overall: 8.1 Recommendation: Buy

Vault Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

Vault announces Five New Titles

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Vault has announced not one, not two, but FIVE series that will be released in Spring 2023. Check out what’s coming to comic shops!

BARBARIC: HELL TO PAY #1

Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Designer: Tim Daniel  
Cover A & B: Nathan Gooden
January 2023

Barbaric is back and headed straight to hell in an all-new arc so big and bloody, it’s getting an extra issue! While Owen tames a dragon with an old friend, Soren and Steel cross paths with someone else from our cursed barbarian’s past…who isn’t looking nearly as friendly. Hell hath no fury like a woman stabbed through the heart by an ugly f***ing orc.

Oh, wait! Who’s carrying Axe?

GODFELL #1

Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Ben Hennessy
Colorist: Triona Farrell & Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Cover A: Ben Hennessy
Cover B: Nathan Gooden
February 2023

One sunny day in the land of Kerethim, God falls dead from the sky. The impact sends out shockwaves that draw in royal families at war, shadowy creatures of the dark, and armies of the dispossessed, all coming to lay claim to parts of God’s body. Into this power struggle wanders Zanzi Vuiline, a soldier and berserker trying to get home from a years-long war. Forced to fight her way through the strange landscapes in and on God’s corpse, from the soles of its feet through the top of its head, Zanzi will acquire a mysterious traveling companion on her own pilgrimage.

THE NASTY #1

Writer: John Lees
Artist: George Kambadais
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Designer: Tim Daniel 
Cover A: George Kambadais
Cover B: Sally Cantirino
March 2023

Eighteen-year-old Thumper Connell still has an imaginary friend: the masked killer from his favourite slasher film. Thumper is obsessed with horror and always has been. He fills his time with scary VHS rentals and hanging out with his fellow fans, The Murder Club. But everything changes when his local video shop acquires one of the notorious films known as “video nasties” – films so scary, they’re the target of the British Moral Decency League’s crusade to ban and burn. But it’s only a movie, right? It’s all just imaginary, isn’t it?

A story about the perception of evil, the power of genre, the love of fandom, the need to create art, oh, and crap-your-pants TERROR!”

SONGS FOR THE DEAD: AFTERLIFE

Writer: Andrea Fort & MC Heron 
Artist: MJ Erickson
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Andworld
Cover: MJ Erickson
Designer: Tim Daniel
March 2023

Bethany is a necromancer and a hero. Along with her companions, Elissar and Jonas, she has finally found the rumored covenant. Her Perilous journey has brought her to the last bastion of the necromancers, but resurging prejudices have them in shambles. Can Bethany unite them in the face of escalating tensions? Or will the coming war shatter all of her dreams for a peaceful future? 

SONGS FOR THE DEAD: AFTERLIFE

MONEY SHOT COMES AGAIN

Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Gisele Lagace
Colorist: Carlos Badilla Z
Letterer: Crank!
Designer: Tim Daniel
Cover A: Gisele Lagace
Cover B: Tim Seeley & Tim Daniel
April 2023

The XXXplorers are back and on their hands and knees for the good of humanity! When the giant ass space jellyfish who run the ordered universe arrive on earth, the porn-stars-cum-science explorers must put away grudges, crushes and side hustles to once again take one or two or three for the team. Begins an epic new arc, which takes aim at dumb billionaires and bad optics, and guests stars a LEGENDARY underground comix heroine! NEW ARTIST Gisele Lagace puts her sexy spin on the book!

The Barbaric Universe expands in 2023! The year of Axe!

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In 2023, Vault will launch The Year of Axe, a year long event that will dramatically expand the world of Barbaric  with two full new Barbaric arcs, the first ever Barbaric spin-off series, Queen of Swords, an oversized one-shot written with legendary fantasy author Nicholas Eames, and a new line of trade paperback Barbaric collections. The world of Barbaric will never be the same.

Here is the full Barbaric 2023 Year of Axe publishing plan: 

JANUARY 2023: BARBARIC: HELL TO PAY #1 – Now carrying the curse of Axe–who’s as bloodthirsty as ever–Soren works to find a way to get Owen out of hell, and runs into one of the barbarian’s old friends along the way. Meanwhile, Owen is trapped in the underworld–which may not turn out to be such a terrible place after all!

JANUARY 2023: BARBARIC TRADE PAPERBACK LINE LAUNCHES – The first two trade paperback collections of Barbaric drop on the same day as Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1!

MAY 2023: QUEEN OF SWORDS #1: A BARBARIC STORY – You asked for it, you got it! he BARBARIC universe expands with this explosive new series! Following the events of Hell To Pay, Ka, Deadheart–wielding Ganelon, which is now infused with the wretched spirit of Ga’Bar–and Serra form an uneasy alliance and journey to obtain a magical relic that’ll help kill the evil orc Gladius. But can Serra be trusted? And will Ga’Bar ever stop talking sh*t?

SEPTEMBER 2023: THE WRONG KIND OF RIGHTEOUS – From the mind of fantasy superstar writer Nicholas Eames with Michael Moreci comes a one-shot that dives into Owen’s and Axe’s past, chronicling the time they ran into another sentient weapon, a mace named Flail! But Flail is not at all what you’d expect of a talking weapon, nor is the psychotic paladin who wields him!

WINTER 2023L BARBARIC: BORN IN BLOOD #1 – After the game-changing fallout of Hell To Pay, Owen and Soren go on a quest to find the monster that can supposedly explain Owen’s curse–but he’ll have to travel through barbarian lands to get there!

Barbaric is co-created by writer Michael Moreci and artist Nathan Gooden. Among Vault’s best-selling series, Barbaric has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide and was named one of the best comics of 2021 by Entertainment Weekly, Thrillest, CBR, Comics Beat, & more. The story follows Owen, a bloodthirsty barbarian and his drunk axe as they roam an untamed, mythic realm battling supernatural cultists, hungry giants, creatures of the night, and more in their quest to somehow, amidst all this chaos, do some good.

Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 and Heart Eyes #1 get new printings

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Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 and Heart Eyes #1 from Vault Comics have sold out at the distributors on the day of release and are being rushed back to print. 

The Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 second printing will go on sale September 21st alongside the series’ second issue. The Heart Eyes #1 second printing will go on sale September 28th, alongside issue #2. The new printing covers are pictured above. 

Barbaric: Axe to Grind is the second book in the massively successful fantasy/comedy hybrid series written co-created by Michael Moreci, drawn and co-created by Nathan Gooden, colored by Addison Duke, and lettered by Jim Cambpell.

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the start of an all-new arc of BARBARIC!
Follow Owen and his magical companion, the tender, talking Axe as they spread kindness and hope in a world gone bad…just kidding! Owen, Axe, and Soren are back, and so is all the mayhem and bloodshed that follows them wherever they go! This time, they’re out to settle an old score against Gladius, a wicked a$$hole who did Owen wrong way back in his barbarian days. As always…it’s just f***ing barbaric.

Heart Eyes is the brand new Lovecraftian horror/romance hybrid series co-created by smash hit writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Victor Ibáñez, with colors by Addison Duke and letters by Simon Bowland.

Sanity-eating monsters ended humanity. The unlucky few who survived now hide in the cracks of a broken world. And yet somehow, beneath the graveyard that used to be San Antonio, Rico met Lupe, the girl of his dreams. But how did she get here? And why is she smiling? No one survives out in the street. No one smiles where the monsters lurk.

Review: Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1

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Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1

Owen is back with his maniacal axe in an all-new adventure with all new companions! Something is back from his past and Owen will set off with Soren and Steel to take on the evil orc warlord that has returned. Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 is everything that made the first volume great with over the top action, some down to earth characters, and a lot of laughs.

Written by Michael Moreci, Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 drops readers right into the action. Owen and his buddy Axe are taking on vampires in hopes of freeing their friend Steel from the vampire’s control. With Soren there to help, the battle is as chaotic as one would expect with laughs a plenty as Axe drinks the blood of vampires and lets us know what it thinks. The comic hasn’t missed a beat at all with an opening that’s just so over the top, it’s great.

Moreci also does a fantastic job of creating a comic that’s new reader friendly. The issue at hand is clearly laid out as well as the adventure to come. We get a sense about Owen for those new and his companions are explained as well. You can caught up easily and enjoy the ride as if you missed nothing at all.

The art by Nathan Gooden is fantastic. With color by Addison Duke and lettering by Jim Campbell, the comic is so over the top with the visuals. Blood and gore flow as Owen and the crew battle vampires and then a kraken and there’s also a good bar fight in-between. There’s nothing subtle about this comic and Gooden’s art just enhances that aspect of the story.

Barbaric: Axe to Grind #1 is another fantastic debut for the series and a must for fans of the first volume and fantasy fans. It both embraces and spoofs the barbarian questing genre and most importantly entertains with every detail.

Story: Michael Moreci Art: Nathan Gooden
Color: Addison Duke Letterer: Jim Campbell
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Vault Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

Preview: Dark Knights of Steel #7 (of 12)

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Dark Knights of Steel #7 (of 12)

(W) Tom Taylor (A) Nathan Gooden
In Shops: Jun 07, 2022
SRP: $3.99

With three kingdoms on the brink of war, Batman is in hiding, recovering from an attack and a shocking betrayal. But Bat-man finds he’s not the only unfortunate soul to be taken in by his surprise rescuers-strange, magical youngsters have been given sanctuary alongside the bastard prince, Bruce Wayne. Will these teen outcasts change everything Batman believes in? Or will they perish at the hands of a demon?

Dark Knights of Steel #7

Vault Debuts a Look at Ram V and Anand RK’s Radio Apocalypse #1

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Vault Comics has released a first look at the interior art from Radio Apocalypse #1, the new series by star writer Ram V, Eisner Award-winning artist Anand RK, colorist Ahisha, and letterer Aditya Bidikar.  

Long after the rock out of space struck the world and turned it all to dust, in Bakerstown stands the last Radio Station on the planet. Radio Apocalypse broadcasting into the unknown, a beacon in the dark for those who wander the lost places. Now change is coming to Bakerstown. Among the refugees flocking into an already precarious settlement, an orphan boy Rion, caught in an indiscretion, will twine his fate with the Radio Station. And in doing so, begin this mixtape of love and heartbreak and interminable hope. This soundtrack to the end of the world.

Radio Apocalypse #1 will hit store shelves on November 17th, 2021. Issue #1 will debut with a stunning variant from Vault Cover Artist In-Residence, Martin Simmonds and a special Vault Vintage cover from Nathan Gooden and Tim Daniel that pays homage to Kieron Gillen’s and Jamie McKelvie’s legendary Phonogram #1.

Radio Apocalypse #1

Review: Barbaric #3

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Barbaric #3

Barbaric doesn’t wear out its welcome and wraps up its first arc in a speedy fashion. Michael Moreci, Nathan Gooden, and Addison Duke tell a fairly heartfelt fantasy story, but with buckets of blood, limbs flying, weird magic shit, and plenty of jokes. Barbaric #3 truly shows that this comic is a sword and sorcery tale without all the boring walking and exposition bits, all killer and no filler. The opening sequence is a bit talky with Soren struggling with the expansion of her magical abilities, but it provides an opportunity for our protagonist Owen to prove that he gives a shit and also poke fun at the concept of the afterlife. After that, it’s pages upon pages for Moreci, Gooden, and Duke to pile one-liners over riveting action scenes with heads flying and a color palette that won’t quit.

Although one of its main cast members is a bloodthirsty talking axe, Barbaric has a story of redemption and friendship at its core. Reading this book is almost like having dessert before dinner because you get the insanely kinetic double page spreads filled with weapons, blood, and bodies tumbling everywhere from Nathan Gooden, and then he and Michael Moreci slow it down and show that Owen genuinely cares for Soren and vice versa. Gooden takes a break from the big, splashy layouts to use more grids and close-up’s of their faces to capture the pain, disdain, and eventually camaraderie that they feel for each other. Barbaric #3 proves once and for all that Owen actually gives a shit about people and isn’t subject to the typical barbarian box of hating witches and magic and the supernatural even though he’d rather be hitting the magical people and objects. They make a good team in the end taking out weird cultists and even learning something new about themselves in the end.

Addison Duke’s color palette is not secretly one of my favorite parts of Barbaric. He shows off a range of tones with his choices this issue from dark despair to pink rage, red ultraviolence, and green decay as Owen’s snake demon foe shows himself in all his sickening Mayor Wilkins meets Shuma Gorath glory. However, Duke’s colors are what transform a great scene into one that’s truly memorable as he floods in golds and white in a page where Owen experiences a form of paradise that’s a little more sensual than the mainline Protestant conception of Heaven. It’s a gorgeous void and complements Nathan Gooden’s lightly inked line work as Owen realizes it’s all a ruse, and that he doesn’t deserve any kind of eternal reward and needs to get back to the raw red of reality and rescue his friend. All in all, the background colors that Addison Duke uses tell their own kind of story as the issue progresses.

Moreci, Gooden, and Duke definitely stick the landing in Barbaric #3 shooting for both big character and action beats while ending things on the jokey tone that has made this series so endearing. If you want a fantasy comic that isn’t full of shit and is self-aware, violent, and makes you deeply care about its (not so) golden trio, the three issues of Barbaric are worth seeking out.

Story: Michael Moreci Art: Nathan Gooden
Colors: Addison Duke Letters: Jim Campbell
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

Vault provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Barbaric Returns in 2022 and Beyond with Multiple New Miniseries and One-Shots

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Hot on the heels of the tremendous success of Barbaric, Vault has announced that the hit series will return in 2022 and beyond. Not only will Owen, Axe, and Soren return in multiple new miniseries by co-creators Mike Moreci and Nathan Gooden, but also in a set of different Barbaric one-shots written and drawn by a murderers row of the industry’s greatest creators.

Barbaric #1 is Vault’s highest-selling issue to date, having garnered an immense amount of praise from critics and peers. The first issue sold out at the distributor immediately upon release, and went through multiple subsequent printings.

Barbaric is co-created and written by Mike Moreci, co-created and drawn by Nathan Gooden, colored by Addison Duke, lettered by Jim Campbell, and designed by Tim Daniel. Issues #1 and #2 are on sale now, and issue #3 will hit store shelves on August 25th, 2021. A hardcover edition that collects the entire 2021 series will be released in December, 2021.

Owen the Barbarian has been cursed to do good with what remains of his life. His bloodthirsty weapon, Axe, has become his moral compass with a drinking problem. Together they wander the realm, foredoomed to help any who seek assistance. But there is one thing Owen hates more than a life with rules: Witches.

Welcome to the skull-cracking, blood-splattering, mayhem-loving comic brave enough to ask: How can a man sworn to do good do so much violence? Hah! F***ing with you. It’s just…BARBARIC.

Barbaric #3
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