The chase in on: Our hero Wynd, his best friend, the prince of a malicious king, and Wynd’s romantic interest (the son of the Court Gardener) are on the run, and the Bandaged Man is after them.

In this land, magic and magical beings are looked upon as corrupted and should be destroyed. The Bandaged Man can smell magic in the air, and he’s pretty good at destroying things. Wynd is a magical human, Wynd is gay, and Wynd is wonderful.  Wynd also has been taught to hate himself, to be afraid of who he is…

This series is a fantasy adventure, but only because it takes place in a world with made-up locations and actual magical creatures. Wynd’s struggle is very real. That’s what gives this series its power and poignancy, its dramatic thrust. It’s also incredibly enjoyable.

In this issue, Wynd gets to experience a world outside of the small-minded city he grew up in, where he’s been forced to hide who he is.  As a reader, we experience that with him; it should be telling to small-minded people. Unfortunately, that tends to not be how it works. Instead, the people who really are going to learn from this are Young Adults. Buy this series for your kids… seriously.

I’ve read some of James Tynion IV’s DC work, especially on Batman, and it’s all very good, but where he excels is his creator-owned titles, where he gets to plunge into our own society through fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. He’s becoming one of the more important writers our there for Young Adults and even adults to read.

The best talents line up to work with him. Michael Dialynas is a wonderful talent. His imagery is easy on the eyes and incredibly potent. The vulnerability he imbues in these characters heightens the reading experience. His colors are vibrant.

This is only listed as a five-issue series, but I can’t imagine the story being done in the next issue.  This issue opens up the world and journey in so many ways. It would be a shame if this creative team didn’t continue onward with these wonderful characters. But even if it is only five issues long, then I’m glad we got to exist in a world with them, even if it was for a short time.

Creative Team: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (artist), Aditya Bidikar (letters), Scott Newman (designer), Eric Harburm (editor), Gwen Waller (assistant editor)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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