TITLE: BARBARIC TALES #2 (1986)
PUBLISHER: PYRAMID COMICS
ART BY: RAGNE NAESS, BRAD MOORE & JOE CASE
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This tryptic of episodic sci-fi/fantasy character pieces rages out of the gate with ”ESCAPE FROM THE CITY” featuring Ragne Ness’ jaw-dropping illustrations. What follows is 8-pages of meticulous perfection featuring the mohawk muscler Damlog - a fugitive of the future with the Woblac Police on his tale - who was subject of his own Pyramid Comics one-shot. ”SPARTAN - DEVASTATOR REX” follows a inter-dimensional barbarian which adds a clunky mid-section to the book with zzzzz-inducing artwork. The closing story “AKLON - LAST OF THE BLUE TREE ELVES” about an abandoned elf turned champion deity rounds out the book with some head-scratchingly frustrated art. -EH

DAMLOG
ISSUE: #1
YEAR: 1987
PUBLISHER: PYRAMID COMICS
STORY & ART: RAGNE NAESS
B/W
COVER 4.5/5
ART 4.5/5
STORY 4/5
BUY: $2.50
FLICKR

A post-mutated snapshot of the alien-colonized earth, viewed through the blazing lens of lazer espionage. Damlog is an escaped government experiment who now earns his living as an “assassinator,” employing futuristic weaponry to take down amphibious military commanders and other non-human targets. Every character is hyper-overdeveloped, with their abdominal muscles, anti-gravitational breasts and strained codpieces battling for prominence in each panel. Creator Ragne Naess (whose name is possibly a clever anagram for several phrases that include the words “rage” and “ass”) has a fascinatingly claustrophobic approach to both his linework and plotting, creating a tense/dense tale of interplanetary mercenary survival. Unfortunately, this 5-issue limited series ran only one issue. -zc