Review of Artesia

Artesia is a story of fantasy and war set in a very well-imagined and described world. It's written and illustrated by Mark Smylie and published by Archaia Studios Press. This is a review of the first Artesia trade paperback, called simply Artesia, reprinting Artesia #1-6.

This review covers some general plot points, but doesn't spoil any surprises.

The Story

Artesia is the story of the titular war captain, courtesan, witch, and priestess. It's set in a gritty fantasy world full of warfare and death, but at the same time it lies very close to the world of the gods, who still flit through the Known World at certain times.

The first volume of Artesia opens with Artesia leading her warband through the Daradja highlands against the nearby King Alexus. But the book will be about more than these Highland feuds ("a squabble over a margin note", as Smylie calls it). For, as Artesia will soon learn, other forces are coming to bear.

The Sun Court, one of the great religious institutes of the world, which holds sway over the nearby Middle Kingdoms, has sent missionaries into the Highlands, and they will never suffer a witch to live. But the Middle Kingdoms too face danger in the guise of the Empire of Thessid-Gola, the heart of the Phoenix Court and the other half of the once mighty Empire of Dauban Hess.

Artesia is the story of the heroine's native Highlands, and what happens there, but it also hints at the further machinations which are beginning to change the face of the world.

The Continuity

The story of Artesia is a self-contained one, the first chapter in a saga that to date also includes Artesia Afield and Artesia Afire. This is the start of an epic.

However it also takes place in a very well-envisioned fantasy world that is sufficiently original & densely imagined that I found it intimidating the first time I read the book. Through this and later volumes, and through text pages that close out each volume, we slowly learn the extensive history of the Known World, but while reading Arteisa I stumbled over a lot of these details. Perhaps it's meant to envision the confusion of Artesia as she enters the greater world, but I like to know more.

So, let me offer the following quick synopsis of the important continuity at the background of this and later volumes of Artesia:

Once there was a mighty empire of Dauban Hess which surrounded the entire Silver Scale Sea. When Hess abandoned it, leaving behind the Dragon Kings to rule, the empire slowly fell to fighting. The solar church at the heart of the Kingdom broke in two, and the Sun Court came to rule the lands to the north and the east, including the Middle Kingdoms, while the Phoenix Court came to rule the lands to the south and the west, including Thessidia and The Gola.

The Thessid-Golan kings of the Phoenix Court turned to vile sorcery for a time, during the era of the unnaturally long-lived Worm Kings, but they were struck down. Then four hundred years ago a new emir rose in Thessidia, Akkalion. He once more conquered the southwestern lands, reuniting nearly half of Hess' old empire, and then he turned toward the Middle Kingdoms of the North. But upon landing there, on the Black Battle Day, he fell into a deep sleep from which he has not arisen in four hundred years.

Artesia opens in the Highlands just north of the Middle Kingdoms and traditionally beyond the reach of either solar clergy. But the new attentions of the Sun Kingdom priests toward the Highlands raise the possibility of civil war, while Agameen, the ninth sultan of Thessid-Gola, is ready to finally turn his empire's eye back toward the Middle Kingdoms themselves.

The Story Telling

The strength of Artesia's storytelling is ultimately in the portrayal of a wartorn land, and the warriors at the heart of it. If Robert E. Howard wrote comics, this would be it. Battles and their aftermaths are beautifully written (and portrayed).

Paired with that is truly epic storytelling. We're just seeing the start of it here, a local hero slowly emerging onto a large scene, but it's obvious the story will be getting bigger now that we've had our introduction. The overall plotting of the book is quite well done. Each individual issue has a solid, individual story, while the overall arc of this volume has a clear beginning, middle, and end, with the last few pages truly giving a feeling of both closure and a new beginning.

Together these elements, along with the very richly detailed world, are the strengths of Artesia.

The characterization of the stories is just fair. By the end of volume 1 I feel like I have a good understanding of Artesia, her desires, and her demeanor. However I can't say the same for the many subsidiary characters that move through the book. King Bran, King Alexus, and a few others stand out, but I honestly have trouble telling most of Artesia's underlings apart.

The clumsiest bit of Artesia is, unfortunately, the slow unveiling of the very well-detailed Known World. I sometimes felt lost in my first read through, and things only really made since when i read the comic again--after having read all three volumes. Though I excuse this above as perhaps reflecting Artesia's emergence into the greater world, in truth some of the things that are confusing are actually Highland and Middle Kingdom history that Artesia is well aware of. The text pieces help here, and I especially suggest reading page 188 to better understand the conflict that will underlay much of the story, but I wish it had been better integrated into the main story (though, Smylie does try, as with the geographical discussion of the Known World on page 100-105, the best overview of the world that appears in this volume). On the plus side, things made a lot more sense on my second read-through, and the story is dense enough that I continued to find this second read enlightening and interesting.

On the whole the dark ages warfare, the characterization of Artesia, the epic storytelling, and the promise of more all really make the book shine, despite some of the awkward bits as we try and learn about the world, and thus Artesia earns a "4" out of "5" for Substance.

The Artwork

The artwork by Mark Smylie is, simply, outstanding. The linework is beautiful and realistic, and the muted palette of colors helps set the tone for a wartorn land. Careful detail to weaponry, armor, and army formations all combine to create a superb and realistic picture of this world, and when I look at the details I boggle that Smylie can produce this book with any type of regularity.

The first two issues look a bit cruder than the rest, I think due to some differences in coloring, but by #3 the book has hit its stride, and as often as not the pages look like paintings. Some of the splashes and spreads are practically suitable for framing.

Smylie's art is very, very good.

The Presentation

Artesia is printed as a 192-page tradepaperback on heavy, very white paper. It shows the beautiful artwork off to its best advantage. In addition, careful attention has been paid to the layout of the book. There's a nice two-page spread heading each chapter (and featuring the original cover artwork) and scattered throughout the book are pictures of statues of the gods from the Known World, adding a nice bit of realism.

Usage in RPGs

As I finished my first read of Artesia it faintly reminded me of the world of Glorantha. Not in any truly derivative way, but rather in theme, in the mixing of the many gods, very close to the world, with Artesia's primitive warriors, arrayed against the nearby civilized kingdoms. I was thus not too surprised when I got to the acknowledgements section, and saw a reference to RuneQuest and Glorantha (along with Robert E. Howard, Lloyd Alexander, and a few other fantasy writers).

As such, I suspect fans of RuneQuest, HeroQuest, and Glorantha will find something in Artesia, as it tells of another world where the gods lay near and the peoples regularly remember the rituals to them. Similarly, fans of the Conan RPG may find inspiration in the dark ages battles here.

More directly, however, there's a Known World RPG due to be released later this year. It's written by comic author Mark Smylie, is based on Fuzion, and uses R. Talsorian's LifePath character genrator. I think it could be quite a good game, based on the vivid world background portrayed here.

Conclusion

Artesia is one of the best fantasy comics I've read. Awe-inspiring artwork, good storytelling, and a superbly detailed world combine to create an original and interesting epic story. With this strong foundation, the rest of the story could excel.