Battlecats 1-5

Written by Mark London
Art by Andy King
Colors by Julian Gonzalez
Letters by Miguel Zapata & Christian Ospina

In a world with no existing humans, the only intelligent lifeforms are those of the “cat” family. With a great set up and back story, Battlecats dives into its origins of the Lion God, and how it influenced a great nation through three rulers. The Battlecats are a select group of warriors that take orders directly from the king.

As the Battlecats (Kelthan, Kaleera, Vaela, Mekkar, and Zorien) adventure through the forest towards the region of La Marque to kill the legendary Dire Beast. They are ambushed by the for soldiers of La Marque lead by Eltoreq, the quiet one. As soon as the battle begins between Kaleera and Eltoreq, it ends with a quick death of Kaleera. Vaela with her magic is able to revive her. With Eltoreq gone and even more threats to follow, the Battlecats adventure continues to be one of life and death.

These first four issues came out strong with excellent world building and strong character involvement. Andy King’s art on the cover and interior give a mature tone to the story that is very appreciated. The death and resurrection of Kaleera unfortunately didn’t hit its mark, only for the fact that there wasn’t much character development of her prior to issue three. On the other hand, it did show the strength of Vaela’s magic. Mark London’s writing makes for an oddly enjoyable mix of classic Thundercats and Game of Thrones.

7/10

Review by Clayton Hinojosa

Battlecats is a fantasy series involving a world run by felines. There are other creatures in this world, but the Lion God has chosen felines to rule. Issues 1-5 definitely built on each other. The first few issues, we get a feel for who each of the Battlecats are, but then as the issues continue, we get more back story on the world we are in and the political lineage of the current king who the Battlecats are fighting for.

The first few issues had a lot of the Battlecats fighting and such, but as the story started to really develop, I found myself getting way more invested than I had anticipated during my read of the first two issues. I highly recommend reading all the way through. There are a few plot twists and reveals that were well placed and interesting. I loved Mekkar’s comedic relief and felt that the timing on it was appropriate instead of awkward. I’m intrigued to find out more about why Vaela is so crucial and important (outside of her obvious abilities). There is no real line on who is in the right as far as politics go as well, which I appreciated. The big leaders – the King Eramad III and Valadar, who leads the rebels – have their agendas, but you don’t end up thinking one is the good guy and one is the bad guy. There is some legitimacy to both sides, and you can understand both perspectives.

In regards to the art, it is well done for creating characters who you need to figure out who is whom. There is one panel in particular with Kaleera doing the super cool – walking away from an explosion in the background thing – that I loved. It is definitely a series to get into if you like any type of fantasy world building and interesting characters.

8/10

Review by Brolie Gordon

Buy issues 1-4 on comixology