Creative Staff
Story: John Lawrence, Marcus Johnson, Chris Krady
Art: Chris Krady
What They Say:
Humanity discovers that it is not alone in this world. What was once believed to be the key to understanding the secrets of humanity, soon becomes the catalyst for a war towards its extinction.
Piloting a towering Bio-Mechanical Symbiote known as an Intrepid, Fiora arrives on the Frontlines. Hoping to turn the tides and extinguish this everlasting blight on humanity, Fiora soon learns that a war is being waged within her as well.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
A young woman is running away from alien monsters that are chasing her. Don’t you just hate it when that happens? It’s not easy, especially when she’s carrying an unconscious body. Who is this person that she’s carrying? His name is Drake. A friend? Partner? Lover? Who knows. More importantly, this woman really needs to find a way to escape. Sadly, the monsters catch up to her and she’s forced to fight. She constantly yells out, “Ordna!” I can only imagine she’s referring to the unresponsive mech in the background. Well, I think it’s a mech at least. Regardless, it’s not answering her call. That’s a shame. She’s eventually caught and everything seems hopeless. She catches a glimpse of Drake’s face and realizes that he’s already dead. This just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn’t it? She yells for Ordna one last time but to no avail. I would also like to mention that the artist did a great job of painting the fear that the girl was experiencing on her face.
And then she wakes up. She’s currently in the back of a vehicle. What a horrible nightmare! Was it just a dream though? Or was that something that happened in the past? By the way, the girl’s name is Fiora. At the moment, she’s heading for the village of Emery. It’s a pleasant place that lies just before the Frontlands. I’m guessing the Frontlands is where all the fighting happens with the alien monsters. She arrives at her destination and is greeted by her sister, Wende. This is the first time we get to see Fiora being genuinely happy. It was nice to see. There’s probably not a lot to smile about in this world. Fiora asks her sister about the guy that was riding with her. Who is he? It turns out he’s a pilot and his name is Lance. He’s also a pretty decent one. Speaking of pilots, there seems to be a shortage of them. If you remember how this chapter started, then you can already guess why that is. But enough about depressing stuff! Time to get some food! You can’t fight on an empty stomach.
They head into a village but it looks more like a city. It’s almost like a maze, too. One wrong turn and they’ll end up on the wrong side of town. Fiora wants to check out their Intrepids before eating. Ah, so that’s what they call the mechs! At the hangar bay, Fiora spots a strange Intrepid. Wende explains that this particular Intrepid is a travesty. Any pilot who has attempted to link with it has been devoured whole. Alright, I can definitely see why she’d call it a travesty. All the pilots who linked with it had perfect sync rates. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. It’s almost like the Intrepid tricked them. That’s a scary thought! The chapter ends with Wende showing Fiora her Intrepid, Absolute Monarch. I must admit it does look pretty badass.
In Summary:
I was wondering when I’d come across a mecha series from NOiR Caesar. It looks like I’ve found it! I’m already a fan. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing giant robots kicking butt? Sadly, we did not get to see an Intrepid in action this chapter. It would have been awesome but I guess I’ll have to keep reading Ordinal Tempest if I want to see those cool fights! Regardless, this was a good first chapter. The first half did a great job establishing the current state of the world and the horror that humanity lives in. The second half did a nice job introducing us to the characters. I really like the character designs. I would also like to mention again that the artist did a great job of painting various emotions on Fiora’s face. You could tell exactly how she was feeling just by looking at it. She definitely wears her emotions on her sleeve. That being said, this was a fun read. It reminded me a bit of Blue Gender and Robotech. If you’re a science-fiction or mecha fan, I’d say give this series a shot!
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
