Crusader from Mad Cave Studios is a passion project, embodying both a love of high fantasy and the challenges to make it better. With the first issue releasing September 6th, now’s a good time to pre-order before August 14.
Crusader Synopsis
A Templar Knight finds himself transported to a dangerous realm known as the Beastlands. With sinister entities known as The Masters hunting him down, all he has is his sword and a weird, goblin-like creature named Grimbel to guide him through this strange new world.
You Think This Is An Escape Fantasy?
Crusader creator Matt Emmons goes all in to capture every side of high fantasy. The titular knight gives the feeling of a straight forward pulp hero; no thinking, just live in the moment. Because that’s what readers are for.
While readers can’t help but be awestruck by the carnage and the knight’s sense of righteousness, they can’t forget everything else either. The Crusades were a messy time of infighting and challenged faith. So seeing the templar get thrown into a fantasy world feels like a way to shake his faith to the core. Especially since he knows his limits, new magic powers or not.
Then there’s Emmons’ other main character the Pilgrim. This is a character Emmons has been waiting on to create, he just needed a good foil. Unlike the templar, the Pilgrim is a burnout with a death wish after working for a cause. His sharp tongue and wits bely his nihilistic outlook because nothing really matters anymore. The only reason he’s still going is because the Masters won’t let him die. The templar’s magic may just be the thing to get the Pilgrim what he wants. Because he’s just as ruthless and vindictive as the templar to get his freedom from the Masters.
It Does Come With A Party Campaign
By the second half of this mini-series, we get a better picture of this Beastlands, it’s basically a D&D world. Hence the party known as the Eighteen. If this seems like a lot of people to get to know… you’d be right. More than half of them are killed off as cannon fodder to show how much of a threat Pilgrim is. Their only real role is to be another foil for the Crusader, people devoted to a cause that are something for him to aspire to.
Especially when readers experience the Crusader’s outlook against the Masters. These three liches are fearsome creatures that instill fear in settlements everywhere. This offers them a great perspective against the clergymen who profit from the crusades. They give the Pilgrim a cause, but they horde all of the benefits. So seeing them act as both the god to rally around and the priests gives the Crusader an arc to complete.
Like An Action Tapestry
If you know me, I’m a big advocate for cartoonists with their own style. Emmons just happens to have a style that evokes medieval illustrations. This along with powerful page-turning transitions gives a timely feeling of simplicity and being to the point. Like when the Templar’s guide Grimbel speaks about worse threats than goblins. The next panel might show the Pilgrim, but it takes the Masters speaking through a dead horse as it rots away to show why.
Let me explain with how Andriy Lukin letters their words. The three Masters each speak in distinguished ways: one with a sharper border in addition to more corrupted font, another speaks like the other fantasy races with a round border and standard font. But here’s the kicker, that latter Master lacks the upper half of his skull! The Masters feel genuinely otherworldly, and the more you think you have an idea of them, the more monstrous they look.
Crusader For The Kings of High Fantasy
Crusader looks like a banger that combines Lord of the Rings with the Elric Saga. While it looks an epic quest in the making, the action and anticipation of the lead characters is the main attraction. But maybe a little too much; the breakneck pace might seem too fast for character arcs. At the very least the stylistic artwork makes the sensations, plot structure, and general idea believable. So this gets 8/10!
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.