Shahrazad 1

A new heroine rises from the legends of the ancient world. Shahrazad was known for her amazing stories of 1001 Arabian Nights, but now it is time to tell her story! She lives a life unlike anything you could imagine.  An existence that spans generations as well as genres.  In this new ongoing series, Shahrazad stares into the storms on the horizon with determination, but the forces of nature, and of history, are not to be taken lightly!

It says a lot about how intriguing a comic is when you end up on a wiki page to find out more about the source material.  Granted, it’s not often that you’d run into a book taking its roots from material that you grow curious about.  But then again, Shahrazad is definitely unique in its own wonderful way like that.  This uniqueness and multiple other factors are what make it such a incredible read as you’ll see.

For those who may also be unaware, Shahrazad was the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights - think Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sinbad.  The twist this time though, is that Shahrazad herself is the one living all of the fantastic adventures.  This initial tale has her on the high seas, with an old school naval feel mixed with modern day technology.  Throw in fighter bats (yes, you read that right), giant squid and mermaids (not Disney friendly mind you), and you have a great foundation for a long series of stories.

Filling this fun book are some of the most gorgeous pages of art you’ll see.  Mike Krome takes charge of the pencil work, which all tells just as superb of a visual story as the writing does.  To top it off, Nei Ruffino once again lays down some of the most stunning colors around to truly make the artwork pop.  Plus, a bonus that I’m personally excited about is J Scott Campbell giving us “B” covers for each issue.

If I had one regret about this book, it’s that I never took the time to jump on it sooner.  The story and artwork both come together to bring us one of the nicest titles I’ve had the pleasure of opening.  Don’t let this one pass you by, and make sure you check this off on your pull list.  I’ll certainly be adding this to my regular reading.

For more information on Shahrazad, check out Big Dog Ink.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.