REVIEW: 'The Codex Volume 1' by Cory Crater, Pablo De Bonis, and Damian Penalba

The Codex Volume 1

Written by Cory Crater

Art by Pablo De Bonis

Colors by Damian Penalba

Letters by Adrian Dela Cerna and Cory Crater

Published by Hayburner Studios

A deserter, druid, mutant, and cyborg-dog are tasked with vanquishing an ancient demon, but they'll have to evade monsters, warlords, cannibals, and one angry ex-girlfriend along the way. 

The Codex is a dark fantasy epic that takes place in a distant post-apocalyptic future. The story follows a ragtag band of survivors. Tansky is an angsty and idealistic military deserter who longs for a retrofuturist civilization he never knew; Konrad is a brawny, four-hundred-year-old mutant, fabled across the wasteland as a mighty combatant; Ace is a loyal, yet cheeky, bionic canine; Anna is a stoic and geokinetic Sand Druid. Along the way, we’ll join up with Jax, a gunslinging desperado, and Shikari, an undead sniper with a dark past. As our heroes traverse the hellscape wasteland, they’ll encounter eldritch beasts, nomadic mercenaries, and dystopian leaders on their voyage to unveil the mysteries of The Codex—a grimoire of evil, and the key to ultimate power. 

Score:

★★★★1/2 (4.5/5)

'The Codex' will be instantly recognizable to sci-fi fans for its exciting adventure arc, its ragtag group of post-apocalyptic scavengers, the engaging witty characters, and gritty inventive artwork. Cory Crater, Pablo De Bonis, and Damian Penalba created a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring this graphic novel to life and its success is no surprise, the book hits all the right spots for sci-fi fans. If you're a fan of Firefly or the Guardians of the Galaxy, you'll love 'The Codex.'

Readers will be quickly swept away in the story as it opens with some action, putting these quirky but resilient characters in danger. As the plot unfolds, with the use of clever exposition and dialogue, you get to differentiate each - deserter, druid, mutant, and cyborg-dog - and learn about their pasts and what exactly is at stake. Fast-paced at times, Crater balances the shoot-outs and monster stampedes with genuine emotional moments. After inadvertently finding a powerful relic in a cache of goods, some people will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. It propels the characters on a quest that will pit them against beasts, nomadic mercenaries, and dystopian leaders.

Artists Pablo De Bonis and Damian Penalba create a post-apocalyptic world that's full of ruin and squalor but has this dark fantasy element that's told through a Western lens. It's both familiar and an amalgamation of genres that blend perfectly with each other. They present this dismal dark future that also incorporates magic that helps to make the story and its visual style both dynamic and unpredictable. 

'The Codex' offers the best of science fiction with an engaging story full of endearing characters you'll root for as they navigate a treacherous post-apocalyptic landscape.