Pow!

I have finished reading Logar the Barbarian (in a dead tree version) an amusing Conan-inspired fantasy adventure comic. You can read it online for free at Harvey Finch's website.

The comic is broken down into four seasons and centres around Logar's quest to find his sister.

The tone has the right balance of portentous silliness although its adoption of 16-bit gaming framing devices is much weaker than DungeonQuest and feels unnecessary.

Interestingly Logar's quest ends with a twist but one that seems to confirm fantasy's sexism by creating a treacherous Dark Lover and emphasising the danger of women to men.

Art-wise its pretty good with dynamic art and creative panel use. The art is stylised but consistent creating an ambience.

As a relatively cheap and cheerful tale I got some entertainment but it's not the best use of the genre. I'd welcome a second story.

Demeter is a tale of witchcraft and the sea by the brilliant Becky Cloonan. As the title's classic allusions make clear it is about life, death and borrowed time. In many way the themes and circular story is similar to The Mire but the art is more naturalistic and the story a little darker.

You can get a copy via Comixology or via Becky's site.

Gold Star (from Retrofit Comics by also available freely online) is a short story using a clever split-storyline on alternating pages that tells the story of Bunny Buckler receiving an award and the the events leading up to his arrival at the awards ceremony.

The art is simple and pared down, using anthropomorphic animals as a kind of personality shorthand. It's a clever story with a simple twist structure, immediately enjoyable.