Lost Fantasy #1 is written by Curt Pires and published by Image Comics. Artwork is by Luca Casalanguida, letters by Micah Myers and colours by Mark Dale.
Lost Fantasy #1 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
There is a world of magic, myth, and monsters that exists beneath the surface of our own. Since first contact was made over 100 years ago, The Great Hunters have kept us safe from the creatures that lurk in the shadows. But last night something broke through, and it’s up to rookie monster hunter Henry Blackheart to stop it.
Review
Image Comics has always been good at telling compelling, character-driven stories that work within the confines of a specific genre whilst subverting the tropes that come with it in the process, The Walking Dead and Nailbiter being great examples. Now they present us with Lost Fantasy, a series that will, undoubtedly, have the same effect.
Right out of the gate, this first issue throws a lot at the reader, continuously setting up plot threads and questions to develop the intrigue within the story. The cold open, for instance, sees a young girl running out of the woods covered in blood only to be hit by a car. This is a visceral opening that grabs your attention immediately, mostly down to Casalanguida’s detailed artwork and Mark Dale’s colouring that relies on a muted palette that is broken up by bright colours during moments of intesnity.
When reading Lost Fantasy, you can tell that certain elements have been taken from other comics and stories that play around with the expectations we’ve become accustomed to within the fantasy genre. The universe in which Pires establishes here takes aspects from Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, whereby creatures and beings have existed throughout history, but it’s always the one thing commonly left out of the history books.
Our protagonist for the series, Henry Blackheart, fits many archetypes of the stoic, sarcastic, man-of-few-words hero. When it comes to interacting with humans, he asks occasional questions and doesn’t particularly participate in active conversations. This can make him a bit hard to read initially, but as the issue goes on, it becomes obvious that we’re only seeing one side to Blackheart, with the rest to be explored later down the line.
Pires isn’t afraid to make topical and political statements with his writing either. References to recent US presidents such as Biden, Trump and Bush are made abundantly clear as the cop talking to Blackheart makes it known that those living out in these small towns mean nothing to the people in charge. A comment like this may seem out of place considering the fantasy elements that are also at play, but because the series has quickly established a distinct tone and the fact that creatures exist in a world dissimilar to ours, allows these political jabs to help ground the story in a sense of relatable realism.
This first issue comes to an exciting close as Blackheart fights off, what appears to be, a troll, a hellhound and a small dragon. The fight is wonderfully brought to life through Casalanguida and Dale’s work, packing each panel with as much visceral energy as possible. It’s an incredibly entertaining brawl that is intense and bloody, leading to a final page that honestly shocked me.
Lost Fantasy gets off to a brilliant start here. There are a lot of loose threads left unanswered for the series to revel in along with an ending that is both bold and unpredictable in the most engaging of ways.
Verdict
Lost Fantasy is a classic in the making. This first issue is striking in its execution, blending tones and genres together in a way that is both familiar and endlessly refreshing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
