REVIEW: 'Barbaric' #3 by Michael Moreci, Nathan Gooden, and Addison Duke

Owen makes one last stand against the abbot's minions in this arc finale that will leave you breathless!

BARBARIC #3

Writer: Michael Moreci

Artist: Nathan Gooden, Addison Duke

Letterer: Jim Campbell

Publisher: Vault Comics

Release Date: August 25, 2021

Cover Price: $3.99

Everything's gone to sh*t. But what else is new for a barbarian cursed to do good, who has to follow the commands of a bloodthirsty axe? It's just that today's a little worse. With Owen's back against the wall, and his enemies eager to chop him to bits, things are looking especially grim as the first arc of BARBARIC comes to a close.

Score:

★★★★★ (5/5)

'Barbaric' by Michael Moreci and Nathan Gooden debuted a mere three months ago. It arrived like a supernova, exploding brightly onto the comic book landscape with bone-crushing action and sly meta-humor. It was just the right mix of fantasy and fun that readers needed, a refreshing adventure the likes of 'Big Trouble in Little China' meets 'Conan the Barbarian.' Issue three represents the end of the first arc that closes the book on "Book One: Muderable Offences." It's a blockbuster of an ending that will leave readers begging for more. 

Owen, the barbarian, is cursed by witches to always do the right thing and guided by a talking axe as his moral compass joins forces with a necromancer witch to take on a powerful evil force. The mad abbot and his minions surround our heroes. Soren is possessed and under the abbot's control leaving Owen with few options to escape certain death as he fights back. What ensues is a spectacular bloodbath that is exquisitely gory and all-consuming by the magnificent team of Gooden and Addison Duke. 

The issue really belongs to the artists in ways epic climactic battles often do. Splash pages chockful of attackers, bodies upon bodies, blood spilled, heads rolling, dogpile of demons, it's a mosh pit of horrors that consumes panel after panel. It's all drenched in rich dark colors. The framing and composition of certain scenes empower our heroes in the best ways creating impactful crowd-pleasing explosions of awesomeness. Your eyes will be forced to linger on every page to soak it all in. 

'Barbaric' #3 ends the first arc far too soon but it's a satisfying, mind-blowing good time that leaves readers clamoring for more adventures with Owen and the gang. It reads like the third act of an epic blockbuster film where nothing is held back and it's just one chaotic smorgasbord of blood and guts. One of this year's biggest new titles will go on hiatus but what a way to go out.