Reluctant Hero Chapters 1 & 2 - Band of Bards
Written And Illustrated by Alexandra McCarthy
Thoughts…
This was my first time reading Manga and at first it seemed to be a bit strange but I was soon drawn into the story of Asta and Lolly and the mysterious Mallory. I do like a slice of life story and this tale of friends at The Middlesmoor College & University (MCU) does a good job of giving you a glimpse into their lives. What starts off as a seemingly safe story of first days and meeting new people soon begins to show a darker side and is this all somehow linked to the events in 2008???
After my brain adjusted to the reading order I found that the story had a nice rhythm to it all. The pace and flow were right for this type of story. In chapter 1 it was very much an introduction to the characters of Asta and Lola, giving us a chance to see who these friends are and the push and pull of their friendship. Asta is the nerdy shy girl experiencing college life for the first time while Lolly is a much more party girl who has been at MCU for longer. There are some funny moments throughout the first chapter especially Asta’s night time bike ride home, while unsettling at first the reality of what is happening around her is a lot more lighthearted, it is at the end of Chapter 1 we meet Mallory.
With Chapter 2 the cat is really set amongst the pigeons as Mallory's presence seems to be causing a bit of tension between Asta and Lolly. It's Lolly that can sense what we the reader are being shown throughout the panels, there is something off with Mallory, but what is it. It is this mystery that will hook you and keep you reading as you will need to know more about her motivations and why she seems so focused on Asta. Also what happened in October 20008? Will the friendship survive Mallory’s manipulation ?
As I have said I am new to Manga and its illustration style. I liked the look of these chapters and found the style to really suit the story tones well. The story has a nice feel to it with the characters friendship and the illustration seems to match that with its almost innocent look to it in the main. But when there is a change of tone or a sense of danger the style seems to shift slightly. Lolly is drawn as more rounded and friendly while Mallory is more angular, this feels to me to represent the characters personalities. I believe this is a similar style to other Manga titles but I found it really helped with the visuals for the characters as they interacted with the world.
I am glad this was my first venue into the world of Manga reading. It eased me into the reading style nicely and I will definitely be reading more, especially of this series and others. I liked the writing style, and I am a sucker for a mystery so I need to find out who Mallory really is and what she is doing with Asta. If you want a fun read with a little bit of a mystery I would very much recommend this series to you, just pop over to Global Comix to read Chapters 1 and 2 ASAP.
I have the scripts for the next 3 chapters so I can’t wait to see where this is all going. I will continue the reviews in a very spoiler free way so there's no worries about finding stuff out before you get a chance to read it yourselves.
Solicitation…
Asta and Lolly are childhood friends, their friendship is tested after Asta befriends Mallory, a young girl who shares Asta’s love of caped crusaders and she suggests they play out their fantasies. However, Mallory’s aspirations are revealed to be far more sinister.
