Lucas Blogs About Head Lopper — Vol. 3

Too bad Norgal doesn't have a van, he would look sweet air-brushed on the side.

 So, what's this book's dea—oh, more Head Lopper.

That's right, it's Volume 3: Head Lopper & The Knights of Venora. So, as you may recall, in Volume 2, Norgal, aka, the Head Lopper, caught feelings for Zhaania in the Crimson Tower, only for her to die. So he's been drowning his sorrows in drink and bloodshed and is in a pretty sorry state when he's forced to rescue Arlenfor and Balan, the Third and First Swords of the King of Venoriah, respectively. See, they were sent out to parley with the goblin army that's been laying siege to the city. As it turns out, the goblins think that the giant egg-shaped stone within the city's walls is going to hatch their fire-breathing toad god who will then devour the sun and the moons.

As fire-breathing toad gods are wont to do.

Exactly. In gratitude Arlenfor vouches for Norgal who had previously been turned away from Venoriah for two reasons: A) the city has a ban on magic and 2) Norgal has a talking basket. Well, not really, but Agatha the Blue Witch's Head isn't exactly coöperative about keeping her mouth shut when Norgal wants to be incognito. This draws the attention of the Archcleric Florentine who serves a shadowy figure who is quite intent on obtaining a certain witch's head. Interspersed with all of this are flashbacks to "SOME TIME AGO" revealing how Norgal came to be the custodian of Agatha's head from different perspectives. Will this volume reveal the answers to such questions as: Why does Norgal keep Agatha's head around? Have Norgal and the First Sword crossed paths before? Will the toad god hatch?

Well?

Dude, SPOILERS!

You're the worst, Lucas.

Anyway, this volume is pretty good.

Care to elaborate on that?

Yeah. As in previous volumes, Norgal essentially finds himself embroiled in someone else's conflict. In this case, it's Venoriah vs. the Goblins (also, the archcleric vs. the king). However, this is the first time that he initiates the quest. The flashbacks reveal that he was charged with keeping Agatha out of the wrong hands by the god Venora, and he wants to go to Venoriah to see if he can contact Venora again. So, while he's still a rampaging barbarian who stumbles into other people's trouble and solves it through the power of decapitation; the reader also knows him as bearing a heavy burden of responsibility. Because it turns out that Agatha's head is also a vessel of an evil god who with the power, and goal of burning down the world, which does explain why she's able to shoot green blasts out of her eyes. It helps round out his character and gives him a more personal stake in the outcome of this particular story (and without having to kill off a love interest). And the side characters are pretty well-written, too.

Again, would you care to elaborate?

Yeah. Arlenfor (or just Arlen) is pretty cool. Her life force is tied to that of the giant hawk she rides; also, she's smart enough to know that sneaking Norgal into the city is probably a bad idea. Fortunately, she's also smart enough to have Brishka, her magic ninja girlfriend, follow him around to make sure that he and his witch head don't get into too much trouble. Her upbeat personality also makes her an excellent foil for the stoic Norgal. Speaking of, Brishka and Norgal are able to team up for a head-lopping action that continues the series high-standard of quality, well-drawn action.

So then you're still into the art?

That I am. The stylized characters and backgrounds are also strikingly colored by Jordie Bellaire. Bellaire also shines in the flashbacks which are rendered in mono-chrome greens but still manage to be legible and maintain visual interest. Lettering duties are handled by Erin MacLean, who mostly uses standard comics lettering with a bit of visual flair now and again. Anyway, it's about what I've come to expect from Head Lopper at this point. Which is to say, that it's not particularly deep, but if you enjoy sword and sorcery stories and art that would badass airbrushed on a van and oddball gross-out humor about decapitated witch heads, you might like Head Lopper.

That sounds like a very specific cross-section of the reading public.

Yeah, probably. Anyway, yesterday was Mother's Day (in many places), and I just wanted to say thanks to my mom, who is a regular reader of this blog.

Head Lopper & The Knights of Venora written and drawn by Andrew MacLean, colors by Jordie Bellaire, lettering by Erin MacLean, Image Comics trade paperback edition, 2019, 224 pages, pairs well with hearty drink and dark thoughts

Links:

Here's the artist's website, if you're into that kinda thing.