All of a sudden things are starting to get interesting in the world of Assassin’s Creed: Awakening, but I still can’t believe it took three comics to do so though. Now I’m over the halfway point, the adventures of Edward Kenway are well and truly underway, with an exciting turn of events ensuring the Templars are involved. Could Issue #4 carry on the momentum for a much improved second half to the mini-series adapted by Titan Comics?
By pure chance, Edward managed to infiltrate the Templars in the last outing, thus finding out their plan to destroy all Brotherhood cells and locate the Observatory where the ‘Fragments of Eden’ are. I say it was all by chance as Edward is masquerading in an Assassin’s outfit, unaware for the most part that he’s pretending to be Duncan Walpole – a traitor to the Brotherhood. Now, he’s rolling with the assumed identity and so his mission alongside the Templars begins…
It came as a bit of a shock to me to see the great Edward Kenway so readily lending a hand to the enemies of humanity. The truth is, he’ll do pretty much anything for anyone if the price is right; after all, we mustn’t forget he’s a pirate at heart. This becomes evident rather swiftly as he’s taken to interrogate a prisoner held captive on a ship, to obtain information as to the location of the Observatory, and when things go awry, those pirate instincts kick in. Edward looks after number one at all times and at any cost!
There’s a lot of action going on in this issue, especially when a swarm of Assassin’s arrive on the scene to, I presume, rescue the knowledgeable prisoner before said prisoner spills the beans to the Templars. Most of the panels’ art style makes it very difficult to tell what’s happening during the majority of the mayhem, but there’s a lovely sequence between Edward and an unnamed Assassin which shows off the skills both of them possess. There’s also a moment where the reader can see through Edward’s eyes and he’s got x-ray vision temporarily; the detail of the ribs and pounding heart belonging to his opponent is easily the best artwork of the series so far – which begs the question, why can’t it all be of such high standard? It baffles me.
Everything moves along quickly, leading to a cool reunion which could see a return to the pirate life for Edward as he sets sail for the Bahamas. And that’s where it ends. As you can probably tell, in terms of progression in the storytelling, not an awful lot happens outside of the chaotic action panels. Even the young chap living through it all via the Animus only gets a quick look-in, literally appearing for less than a page.
I feel like a broken record in regards to the reading of the comic and whilst the right to left manga style doesn’t bother me in the slightest, the large speech bubbles – often misleading as to who’s speaking – and the generally hard to distinguish drawings really irritate and detract from the enjoyment of it.
On the plus side, the parts I could follow are exciting and set a really fast pace for the goings on in Issue 4. I wish there could’ve been more witty dialogue, but what was present did the trick in helping Edward’s personality shine through. Given that he appears to be heading off as a pirate again, I wonder how the role he played as a rogue Assassin will catch up with him next time.
Will you be joining me for Issue 5?
