It’s sword and sorcery flirting in brightly lit surroundings, this Savage Hearts #1 from Dark Horse.
It’s termed a ‘jungle fantasy romcom’ in the promotional literature, and sure enough, it’s a tough-talking, proud walking powerhouse woman meeting a purple satyr in the jungle. There’s no ‘meet cute’ in the typical parlance of the romcoms, instead more like a stand-off between egos of high mutual resistance. Or more resistant on the part of Bronwyn the barbarian; clearly Graow the satyr is smitten.
And for me, frankly, the lip service is a bit much, as he lays on the compliments and the verbal massage wayy too heavy for my tastes. But there is a playful charm in writer Aubrey Sitterson’s banter, we see the potential for drama, if not for romance right away.
The drawings (Jed Dougherty) are well constructed, with excellent light and shadow, tonal mass, and poses. The panels are dynamic, the action beats well composed. Lovern Kindzierski’s colours are over the top and bright, with plenty of daylight in yellow, orange, purples and pinks. It’s maximum contrast in paint. Letters are by Taylor Esposito.
There is a four-page backup story included, à la Robin Hood-style, written by Sitterson, illustrated by Goran Gligovic, letters by Esposito.
Dark Horse, Savage Hearts #1, $3.99 for 22-page main story plus bonus story
Newsdesk