Forgotten Runes: Wizard’s Cult #1

Written by Ninja Jupi

Back on May 11, Mark and I went to the local comic book shop. I picked up a special comic theme pack which consisted of works that fell under the Fantasy/Sci-fi genre. For May, due to Free Comic Book Day back on May 4, they were doing something special each week for the month. This was one of the comics found in this batch which is from Titan Comics.

This story is about a guy named Crowley. He reminds me of a pirate, but this entire setting feels like it belongs in a pirate story or world. Anyway, Crowley, as the story opens, is shown staring out at the sea intently from atop a seaside cliff. You think he’s alone, but he has a snake companion on his shoulder responding back on his comments. They’re on a mission to take special cargo from a ship. The snake is going on about whether or not the mission was worth it and if they could trust the one to compensate them for their services. Crowley feels that they can, but the reptile is still skeptical.

Next there is a flashback showing how Crowley got roped into this job. After being thrown out of a tavern for fighting, a mysterious cloaked bystander, who was having a drink, followed and confronted Crowley. The man made a proposition for Crowley to retrieve a special, magically locked chest for him without being seen that belonged to a wizard named Hadrien. Naturally Crowley was on the defensive. This stranger also seemed to know about him, including where he was from, his name, that he was a wizard, and that he was a burglar. What persuaded Crowley in the end was the promise of gold and riches if he completed the task.

Back to the present, Crowley is ready to go after the booty onboard a ship that Hadrien was a passenger on. With his explosives and a rocket-like one to ride on, he gets to the ship. 

He saw that Hadrien was in his cabin, sitting on the chest. Crowley used his explosives to cause a commotion, but Hadrien remained. Crowley then started a fire which made the captain of the ship insist on Hadrien's help since he and his other companions were wizards. 

With a begrudged Hadrien being forced into helping, Crowley got into the cabin which gave him a chance to steal the chest. Above deck, Hadrien and the others were trying to put the fire out, but he used a water spell, capsizing the ship. This gave Crowley the chance to escape with the chest using his rocket underwater.

Once back on shore, the still nameless stranger took the chest and released the magical contents inside. He then magically replaced it with gold and jewels. Pleased with Crowley’s work, he wants Crowley to do another job for him, which he accepts after being promised riches, but did Crowley fully complete his mission flawlessly or was he indeed seen by someone?

This story to me is interesting so far. I’m curious what other tasks the stranger has in store for the protagonist. I’m also curious about the cloaked stranger’s backstory. What’s his history with Hadrien? Why did he have the chest stolen? Can he be trusted? Is Crowley’s snake companion skepticism warranted even though the stranger kept his word? I look forward to reading issue 2, which came out this past February. Issues 3 and 4 are also out, four just being released on May 8! I’m itching to go back to the comic shop. I want to learn more about this magical nautical world and if Hadrien gets dragged back into the story somehow.