The idea of each season having its own god is about as old as humans. Usually, these deities live in a perfect and predictable harmony with each. However, what would happen if these deities hated each other and the only way to make one give up their season was by killing them? Enter “Solstice†by Danny McLaughlin with art by Nathan Donnell.
Finn is the current and possibly last herald; a warrior designed to end one god’s rule and bring in the rule of another. Now she has to kill a white wolf in order to bring spring, but this time it may be the last time a herald will do this.
This is a great idea that hasn’t really been done before, but the big wrench in its cogs is the whole “you will bring ruin†angle that’s been done to death. It doesn’t kill the overall enjoyment of the comic. In fact, Finn is a rather interesting character and has a lot of to like, like how she goes about killing the wolf is rather awesome.
This also doesn’t mean the rest of the series will be a cliché storm. The ending does bring up some rather interesting ideas and sets up what may be a grand adventure that could end on a high note.
The art fits the comic nicely. The characters have this Nordic look to them with how their clothes and the backgrounds are drawn. While this comic only has three colors, black, white and blue, it fits the whole endless winter motif perfectly. Hell, once spring comes along the blue is replaced by green. The only weird part of the artwork is how one of the gods looks like the head knight of “The Knights Who Say Ni†from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail†because his helmet looks exactly like his.
In all, “Solstice†has a great premise with a great character and artwork, but that one black cloud that’s hovering over it may either make or break the entire series.
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