The Untamed: A Sinner’s Prayer

248 PAGES
$29.99
Writer: Sebastian A. Jones
Cover Art: Peter Bergting
Interior Art: Peter Bergting
Colorist: Peter Bergting
Letters: Joshua Cozine and Troy Peteri

Publisher: Stranger Comics
Release Date: Nov 4th 2015

Indie publisher Stranger Comics is aspiring to create a universe on an epic scale. Their newest book Niobe: She Is Life was released to massive hype this month due to its creative team of actress Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) and Ashley A. Woods (Milennia War). We stopped by Stranger’s booth at NYCC and picked up their gorgeous hardcover for The Untamed: A Sinner’s Prayer, a story of vengeance and jump-off world-building vehicle for the Asunda Universe.

Jones doesn’t deliver anything too new in The Untamed. Back from the dead on a mission of vengeance against those responsible for murdering him and his family, a cloaked Stranger returns to the town of his past sins and former life. Yes, we’ve seen The Crow. For an introduction to a whole universe however, the simple story sort of works and is easy enough to follow while more complicated world-building elements like trade disputes and magic are fleshed out. We did enjoy that the character of The Stranger had both a dark past beyond his vengeful present, which adds a little bit of depth in the reading and consideration of who you’re actually rooting for in this story. We cast our lot with Niobe, who makes more than an appearance in this series as a grounding compass for the demonic Stranger.

Ultimately, what hurts this book is part of its strength. Bergting’s painterly style is gorgeous and bold, but the monochromatic panels often limit just how much of the town of Oasis we can actually see. It’s hard to get a feel for this world at times, and some of the dialogue doesn’t quite sync with this seemingly medieval-type fantasy setting of Asunda. Perhaps a smaller complaint is the number of hooded figures-to-panel ratio in the book. The mysterious reveal of a cloaked character loses some of its effectiveness after the 4th or 5th time and at some point, we just want to know immediately who the heck is talking.

Still, it is an impressive effort from a new publisher, and we’re excited to see more of what Stranger comics has planned for Asunda and the universe. If you’re interested in picking up the hardcover, also know that it’s a beautifully put together book with a stunningly glossy cover and extra features like collected variants and some behind the script stuff.

Kaitlyn D
Content Editor
@deadrabbit92