The Necromancer's Map

A few weeks back I was going to do a little review of Vault Comics's The Necromancer's Map #3. I'd really been smitten with the book--something which doesn't happen very often these days--and was anxious to write about it. But just as I finished reading #3, I found out ( 💣 ) that there was a story with the same main characters which preceded this series...Songs For the Dead, which ran for four issues between January and July of 2018, and was available in trade paperback form. So I held off on writing about The Necromancer's Map until I had a chance to get my hands on that.

Got it, read it, really liked it. And was all set to write my little review when issue #4 of The Necromancer's Map came out, so I thought I'd read that first....

And before I had the chance to read #4, I found out that this would be the last issue of the series.

I was actually kind of upset about that. So upset that I held off on reading issue #4, as if I could extend the series by just not admitting that the end had arrived. But tonight I couldn't hold off any more, and I read it.

And loved it.

This series--which primarily centers on a necromancer and a warrior she's resurrected--has more realism, humanity, and humor than pretty much any other book I'm reading right now. (Though Greg Pak's Firefly isn't that far behind.) And Vault Comics gives more bang for your buck than any other company currently publishing, I think. $3.99 per issue, and each one is 32 story pages. Which means that in four issues you get pretty close to six issues's worth of story.

Now, the good news is that there will probably be another series in the near future. But here's some sobering math news:

For Songs of the Dead, Comichron reports these sales figures:

Those are not inspiring numbers. So hats off to Vault Comics for going back to the well for The Necromancer's Map. Comichron has only published the sales figures for the first two issues of this series as of now, but they are encouraging:

I suspect that the numbers on the first issue were particularly strong because of the homage covers Vault Comics has been running. For The Necromancer's Map #1, they did an Elfquest homage cover:

Which is what caught my eye. So much for judging a book by its cover, eh?

But to the point(s):

(1) The Necromancer's Map is a good comic book. It does have a strong fantasy element, but it's not bombastic or stilted in the way that fantasy often seems to be. Seriously, it's more realistic than most comic books you've seen to date. And, as mentioned above, it has some actual ha ha, too.

(2) Vault Comics is a very small operation, and they haven't been around very long, so they could really use your help. Instead of putting $3.99 down for a 22 page story which is pretty much the same old shit you've been reading for the past five years, throw it down on The Necromancer's Map. Or one of Vault's other titles--they have a lot of good stuff. As a matter of fact, last week I bought seven comic books, and five of them were Vault Comics titles: Money Shot #1 and #2 (scientists create porn videos to fund their space exploration--how's that for a concept? And believe it or not, it works...and is even pretty funny), The Plot #1 and #2, and Black Stars Above #1. All of them are at least good. And that last one--Black Stars Above? Might actually be great. It's early, but...well, it's just really something else. I'd especially recommend that one if you're a Jeff Lemire fan. (And if you're not a Jeff Lemire fan, I'd recommend that you try him out as soon as possible--especially Essex County  and Sweet Tooth, both of which are indispensable.) 

(3) I really want to be reading the further adventures of Bethany, Elissar, and Jonas (and maybe that dead squirrel, too?) every month, and that's not going to happen without your help. So come on people now, smile on your Brother.

And by the way, if you go to Vault Comics's Free First page (https://vaultcomics.com/free-firsts/), you can read 13 comic books for free...including the first issue of Songs For the Dead. How's that for fan service?

Seriously...you can't lose here. Good comic books, lots of bang for your buck, and some nice folks behind the curtain. Give 'em some money, okay? And keep an eye peeled for those homage covers--they'll continue on first issues for awhile, I hear. And they're super cool.

Okay? Okay.