Pathfinder: Worldscape #6 - A Review

The city of Shareen is razed and the Empress Camilla lies dead. Alas, the sorcerer Kulan Gath has acquired her scepter and what remains of Camilla's circle of advisors have joined him to acquire the magic crown that, coupled with the scepter, will give them power over The Worldscape and the three worlds that feed it! It is now a race against time as John Carter, Red Sonja and their new friends among The Pathfinders must meet with The Council of Jungle Kings and rouse the bearer of the crown - the one called Tarzan - from his contemplation to join the battle!


Alas, this engaging bit of pulp fiction has fallen flat in its final chapter. The strength of Erik Mona's story has lain in the interactions between the heroes of different worlds, such as John Carter discussing religion with a priestess whose magics he cannot explain. Those interactions are tossed aside here, as we are introduced to a horde of public-domain jungle kings whose only purpose is to serve as canon fodder until Tarzan can be bothered to put in an appearance. The artwork by Jonathan Lau remains astonishing but this ending feels rushed and might have benefited from a few more issues to develop the larger cast.

Pathfinder: Worldscape #5 - A Review

The warrior Valeros and priestess Kyra have been reunited in the cells of the Empress Camilla's arena, Their newfound allies - Red Sonja and John Carter - stand ready to lead a rebellion against the Empress and the dark forces allied with her. Yet Kyra is troubled by the revelation that Merisiel - their party's rogue and her lover - stands among Camilla's inner circle...

It would have been a simple matter to throw together a fantastic epic utilizing the world of the Pathfinder roleplaying game and Dynamite Comics' rich stable of pulp heroes. Thankfully, Erik Mona chose a more challenging path in writing this story. It's thrilling enough as a fantasy tale yet the heart of the story lies in the interactions between the various characters. It's as amusing watching the hard-drinking and harder-loving Valeros and Sonja play off of each other as it is touching to see John Carter in a rare reflective mood as he speaks of romance with Kyra.


Jonathan Lau's art proves a perfect pairing with Mona's story. He draws a damn fine action sequence yet instills even the most basic scenes of two people having a conversation with a sense of motion. Omi Remlante's colors are well chosen throughout, with interesting gradient effects used to simulate torchlight also aiding the appearance of the completed artwork.

Pathfinder: Worldscape #4 - A Review

Merisiel had a shady past but reformed (somewhat) and used her skills as a thief to aid her allies in exploring the wonders of Golarion. It was a surprise then when her allies learned that Merisiel was part of the villainous council that ruled the city of Shareen, which lay at the heart of the prison dimension known as The Worldscape. Here now is the untold tale of how Merisiel found herself fighting alongside the dark wizard Kulan Gath, the sky-pirate Phondari and the Empress Camilla!


The plot thickens in this time-twisted issue of Pathfinder: Worldscape, though the actual story doesn't advance much. Despite this, the story at hand is a wonderful character study of Merisiel. And the artwork by Jonathan Lau and Omi Remalante continues to impress.

Pathfinder: Worldscape #3 - A Review

Kyra is a priestess of Sarenrae - goddess of light and healing. Separated from her companions and trapped in the prison plane known as The Worldscape, she has taken refugee in the city of Shareen - a dark and wicked place in need of Sarenrae's light. Yet when an act of compassion brings Kyra to the attentions of The Tharns - death priests aligned with the evil ruler of Shareen - the priestess will win the aid of another hero - John Carter, Warlord of Mars!


The artwork for this issue suits the grim and gritty setting well. Artist Jonathan Lau does a fantastic job layering each panel, with thin inks barely outlining the characters and thicker inks crafting defining shadows. This enables colorist Omi Remlante to finish the art with similarly varied palettes.
What truly sells this issue, however, is writer Erik Mona's command of the characters and his brilliant ideas for playing the heroes of different settings off of one another. The issue's best sequence sees the inquisitive Kyra asking John Carter about the gods of his world.  It's an interesting point, not often examined in this kind of crossover, that the gods of worlds like Golarion offer continual evidence of their existence compared to the indifferent gods of Hyboria. I also love how this fact is more disturbing to the faithful than the faithless. John Carter doesn't put much store in gods or priests of any kind, but the practical warrior knows good souls and good things when he sees them. It is ironic then that Kyra winds up seeking an affirmation of her faith in the face of True Darkness from the humanist.

Pathfinder: Worldscape #2 - A Review (SPOILER ALERT!)

Separated from her companions, the sorceress Seoni finds herself in a strange rain forest. Thankfully Fantomah - the self-proclaimed goddess of the jungle - sees Seoni's noble heart and leaves her unharmed. Soon Seoni is met by new companions - the former soldier of Earth turned jungle lord known as Thun'da and the Green Martian warlord Tars Tarkas - who tell Seoni of the strange world where they have all been marooned.


Pulp fans and gamers alike are sure to enjoy this series. The rich, vibrant artwork by Jonathan Lau and Omi Remlante proves spell-binding in its beauty and this month's gamer supplement provides Pathfinder statistics for the Green Martian race. What really sells this issue, however, is the story by Erik Mona and the sheer logistics of what he's accomplished.

Much like Gail Simone's Swords of Sorrow, Pathfinder: Worldscape draws upon a variety of classic fantasy and science-fiction in building its world. While advance reviews told us we'd see the likes of Red Sonja, Tarzan and the whole of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom, the inclusion of Fantomah (credited by many as the first superheroine) and Frank Frazetta's jungle hero Thun'da was a pleasant surprise.

Pathfinder: Worldscape #1 - A Review

The world of Golarion is home to many wonders and the fighter Valeros has seen many of them. Yet even he finds it hard to believe when - in the midst of a battle against his greatest foe alongside his closest friends - he suddenly found himself in another world. Captured and forced into service as a gladiator slave, Valeros has become the latest victim of The Worldscape - a world between worlds that traps people from other realms. Killing for the amusement of others does not sit well with the honorable Valeros, but he may have no choice when he his pitted against the arena's current champion... a woman known as Red Sonja!



The concept of people suddenly being drawn into other worlds in a staple of both pulp fiction and role-playing games. John Carter, of course, became a Warlord of Mars after accidentally astral projecting to Barsoom. And the classic Ravenloft setting of Dungeons and Dragons was based around a dark realm that crafted ironic punishments for various evil beings, even as it lured in unfortunates for those beings to torment.

Taken in that context, Pathfinder: Worldscape is a worthy continuation of both legacies. The story is easily accessible to those unfamiliar with the heroes of the Pathfinder comics or Red Sonja. And the kinetic style of Jonathan Lau's artwork paired with the colors of Omi Remlante matche that story perfectly.



At $4.99 this comic is a bit more expensive than most. As a gaming supplement, however, it's a bargain!  The comic comes bundled with a poster/map, an adventure written for the Pathfinder role-playing game system, a write-up of Red Sonja's statistics for those who wish to feature the Curse of Hyrkania in their campaigns and the information for a Sonja-inspired character class, The Sword Devil. (You can read about writer Erik Mona's process for crafting it all here.)

As someone familiar with Sonja as a character and Pathfinder as a system, I consider this all to be good quality material. My only quibble with the Sonja write-up lies with her being given a Neutral Good alignment. If ever anyone was a poster-girl for Chaotic Good, it's Sonja. Apart from that, this is a damn fine comic for gamers and fantasy fans alike and a wonderful gaming supplement.