Crogan's Loyalty

What I try to do with reviews at this Bookshelf blog is keep it simple and spoiler-free, and let you know whether I'd recommend you pick up a copy of what I just read. Seems to work okay. This time, a brief review of Crogan's Loyalty (Oni, 2012).

I'll tell you what I don't like about Chris Schweizer's series of Crogan comics: they come out far too infrequently. Don't get me wrong; they're worth the wait, probably take this side of forever to research, write and draw, and each is huge fun. The third, Crogan's Loyalty, was released earlier this year, but since I have not gone out comic shopping for quite some time, it remained something to purchase some other day. Happily, my wife surprised me by picking up a copy from Schweizer when she saw him at Dragon*Con.

This time out, the heroes are the squabbling brothers William and Charles, who find themselves on opposite sides of the American Revolution. They are the grandchildren of the pirate character from the first book, back in 2008. This time out, the characters are set in the tough wilderness of the colonies. William has found himself a sweetheart who lives with her family deep in the forest near Indian land, and Charles has sworn loyalty to the crown and works as a guide for Hessian troops.

As with the previous stories, this is a fantastic, unpredictable adventure with high stakes and a degree of attention that few of Schweizer's peers come close to meeting. I love his artwork, and that deep, dark curve to his lines, and I love how incredibly well he lays out the action scenes. It's an amazingly fun story, certainly worth spending a couple of days with. If you've not read the previous stories, you will certainly want to track them down afterward, and then join me in impatiently waiting for the next one.