Swordquest #3

Written by: Chad Bowers and Chris Sims
Art by: Ghostwriter X
Colors by: Chris O’Halloran
Published by: Dynamite Comics

After the pretty revelatory last issue where we discovered that the lead designer for the Swordquest series in the 80’s was none other than Konjuro, the main villain of the series brought to life, our ragtag group are off to Los Angeles to first try and get a meeting with Konjuro to get a sense of who he is, as well as prepare to steal the ultimate prize: the sword.

As far as plot goes, this is a pretty straight forward story this time around: they make their way to Los Angeles, they find a way to get a meeting with Mr. Juros (as Konjuros is known) through what the mysterious Terry calls Swordsight - Peter gets a vision telling him to ask about the Dark Arcade which gets them the invite. This is all followed by a pretty non-descript meeting with Mr. Juros where he reveals without much fanfare what the Dark Arcade is and finally our ragtag group leaves with some of the information they were looking for.

I think what I’ve enjoyed the most about Swordquest up to date is that it’s a story that anybody who is a fan of not only old school games but also old school conspiracy theories about said old school games, would love to have play out in their own lives. The main protagonist isn’t anyone who is outwardly special - only Terry believes that in the book - but his unrelenting conviction to get his hands on that prize that eluded him as a child makes for a fun story.

Ghostwriter X continues their stellar work on the book. They get to have some fun with Mr. Juros throughout the latter half - he seems to be just an ordinary business man, but X gives him enough presence throughout, with some visual winks and nods here and there, that you know there is something more to the character.