A Harry Potter-esque academy for assassination training, rendered in a style reminiscent of a manga inspired Series of Unfortunate Events; yes please!
Five Weapons is the story of Tyler Shainline, a surname that draws respect and awe amongst his peers at Five Weapons Preparatory Academy; where, you guessed it, they train and compete in one of five weapon disciplines. While each of these “clubs” vie for Tylers fealty; he enters their world armed with neither firearm nor sword, but merely his rapier wit. It’s a simple yet ingenious hook that more than backs itself up with an entertaining and engaging plot!
Written and drawn by Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen), this was just a lot of fun to read. He takes a straightforward enough premise and weaves in a unique backstory that makes this book breeze by. It feels perfectly at home at Image, seemingly the home of individual and unique storylines; they are fast becoming my new favorite publisher. Slated at a 5 issue arc, it finds a good pace in what reveals the world of the story, exploring the first of the 5 clubs (knives, staves, archery, exotic weapons, and guns) starts to look at character backstory, and sets up the conflict and exposition to come. Page one sets up a ‘How did I get into this situation’ type flashback, while simultaniously posing to the reader a ‘which side are you on’ type challenge. Page 2 reads like a brochure for the assassin academy; and if that’s not enough to hook you, then just stop reading here.
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