Broxo
Nobody messes with Broxo, a young warrior with a wicked sword, a fierce horned-beast companion, and a fearless resolve. Which, to be fair, might be because nobody else lives on Peryton Peak. Except for that untrustworthy witch and those zombified corpses, who all kind of mess with Broxo. And Princess Zora of a far-off family, who comes to the mountain to find the lost Peryton clan and stirs everything up in Broxo’s solitary existence. Together they slash, stab, sneak, and snark their way through the mystery of what happened to Broxo’s people. Giallongo’s art sits somewhere between Jeff Smith’s Bone and Richard Pini’s Elfquest, which is about as ideal a spot for a fantasy comic as you could hope. While not exactly splashing around the page, there’s some serious bloodshed as a result of the intense, sword-swinging action sequences, though the violence never strays into the gratuitous territory. A strong graphic-novel debut that touches on ideas of loyalty, friendship, betrayal, and heritage with the crisp zing of a blade slicing the air. Grades 7-10. --Ian Chipman