A Grim New Chapter in the Age of Fire
Ever since I ‘grew up’, I pretty much stopped reading ‘comics’. But it was with a completely chance encounter with a game I knew nothing about, BLEACH: Brave Souls, a game that intrigued on the name alone, that started me off with reading manga, getting invested properly. In a way, I wish I hadn’t played it, as it has become quite expensive with my reading of manga and graphic novels going from strength to strength since then. That includes books inspired by Diablo, Elden Ring and Dark Souls.
Which leads me neatly onto the subject of this review and Titan Comics’ Dark Souls: Mother of Mourning #1. Written by George Mann and illustrated by Maan House, if you have any liking for the Dark Souls games, this should well be on your radar. But why? Well, let me present my thoughts about what I have read. You lucky people, you!
Reading Between the Line
One of the beauties of how the Dark Souls narrative is told, in the games at least, is that there is a wide latitude for reading between the lines. Taking a piece of lore, there are any number of ways that the story can be spun off, and this is exactly what has happened here. Taking the events of the first game, where the end of the world is coming, the writer has taken the narrative off in a whole new direction, introducing a whole bunch of new characters and extra parts to the lore. The writing of the story has to be applauded, as the lore of the comic slots neatly into the overarching adventures found in the game, all while spinning off in a completely new direction.
Of course, I guess you’d like to know what is happening in the story, wouldn’t you? Well, you’re in luck. The story follows the exploits of the Knights of Mourning and the mission that they assign themselves. You see, the Knights believe in the power of the Mother of Lillies, a saint who has lost her soul, and become mummified. They tell stories of the Mother of Lillies’ ability to restore balance to their dying world, and so they set out on a quest to find her lost soul. If the soul is reunited with the remains, apparently she will revive and hopefully bring the world back into balance. Hey, it isn’t any sillier than the rest of the lore, right?
The Quest of the Knights of Mourning
Anyway, it isn’t all jolly japes and exploring in Titan Comics – Dark Souls : Mother of Mourning #1. See, the Knights suffer from the encroaching madness, the same as the rest of the inhabitants of the world, with the risk of going Hollow and losing themselves. We pick the action up with a new crew of Knights about to set off in search of the soul, as the last group have disappeared without trace. What can possibly go wrong?
The story is all nailed on and slots neatly into place, as does the presentation of the comic. The art style fits in perfectly with the vibe of the game, as well as the wider Dark Souls world; being largely a selection of ruined landscapes and twisted creatures. The way that the main characters, the Knights, are drawn and fleshed out is very good indeed, and while the hopelessness of the games doesn’t really come across, the artwork does a superb job of evoking the world that we’ve all spent so much time in. I mean, there have been enough Dark Souls games already…
The dialogue put together by George Mann also fits that action perfectly, and ensures the main character, the leader of the expedition for the soul, comes to life. He seems an intense kind of person, driven to get the Mother’s soul back or die trying, and while the rest of the Knights aren’t as fleshed out (I have a definite feeling of “Star Trek red shirt guy” about most of the group, so will expect them to be killed and eaten sometime soon), it’s all fine. Hopefully that isn’t a spoiler! As far as the story writing and art goes, everything is very promising with Titan Comics – Dark Souls: Mother of Mourning #1.
Skillful Foundations for a Dark Souls Mystery
I have really enjoyed the arc and story set up here, but of course, being #1 of the series, there is a lot more to come. Thankfully, the foundations of the story are laid with consummate skill. I will certainly be looking out for the next episode and seeing if the mission to restore the Mother of Lillies will be everything the Knights hope for, or will there be a typical Dark Souls twist in the tale? Well, the only way to find out will be to read the rest of the story, so if you could hurry up and release the rest of the issues, Titan Comics, that would be absolutely fine by me!
Until then, I will have to keep running the available facts through my mind and try to figure out what is going to happen. And that is the beauty of the way these comics are released: it gives the anticipation time to build and makes the waiting a little unbearable.
Huge thanks go out to Titan for providing us a copy of Titan Comics – Dark Souls: Mother of Mourning #1 for review. Grab one for yourself from Titan Comics direct. You’ll find it on Forbidden Planet and Amazon too.
