Knight Errant: Escape #1

Knight Errant: Escape #1 (of 5)

Writer: John Jackson Miller
Penciller: Marco Castiello
Assistant Penciller: Andrea Chella
Inker: Vincenzo Acunzo
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Cover Artists: Benjamin Carré,  Mike Hawthorne (Alternate Cover)

Kerra Holt goes behind enemy lines once again in Knight Errant: Escape #1, but this time she’s working for the Sith. John Jackson Miller spices things up a bit in this issue adding some things we haven’t seen before and providing some new plot threads for the story. Not surprisingly the artist have changed again for the series, and the style is very noticeable. All in all, it’s an interesting issue.

First off, there’s a new cover artist on board for Knight Errant. Benjamin Carré is taking over for Joe Quinones, and while Quinones style had grown on me, I’m really loving the beautiful work done by Carré. His cover for Escape #1 looks like a painting on par with the legendary Dave Dorman. By depicting Kerra Hold flying through the air with lightsaber and lightning up against a towering beast, it captures both action and terror. It just looks awesome! Looking ahead at the future covers, Carré is a perfect choice for the series.

Digging into the inside artwork, there’s a new team on board. Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Michael Atiyeh have combined their efforts to create a gritty style that’s similar to the artwork for Knights of the Old Republic: War. While I’m not a huge fan of this particular style, it does work really well for the monsters. I’m also glad that this series will have some consistency to it. All three artists will be doing issues #1-4, and hopefully #5. If the other issues are anything to go by, a good art team will gradually improve with each issue, so I’m hopeful the next one will be even better.

Sadly, the epic worm monster featured on the cover does not appear in the issue. However, there is a cool looking rancor and some strange, new creature with big horns, purple skin, and an equally twisted looking Sith lord on his back. There might not be glossy, photorealistic artwork or epic take-your-breath-away panels, but what the art lacks in punch, it makes up for with content. There are shots of city environments in Daiman’s territory,  extensive imagery of the armor for the Sith soldiers, a one shot panel of a space battle, several shots of monstrous Sith hordes in battle, and more. One panel in particular that I really liked was the group shot of Kerra Holt with Odion’s Novitiates. Whereas some of the panels felt a bit dull, that one was extremely lively.

Storywise, Miller laid out a rather packed first issue for the new arc. It has a lot of action, yet it doesn’t drop the ball in the plot department. Kerra keeps plunging forward as the issue goes along. The story tosses in some serious plot threads for Kerra and some nice world building pieces with new Sith characters, planets, and creatures. Miller also delves deeply into Lord Odion shedding a lot more light on his character and motivations. Amazingly he does all this in just one issue.

Knight Errant: Escape #1 delivers a lot of content for just one issue, and if this arc can keep up the pace, it’s going to be a hell of a ride. I give it a well deserved four out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.