The very successful third issue of Barbarian is ruined slightly by this fourth issue. The story is solid, if slightly rushed. The art is only average, but the tone and origins crafted in the third issue are wasted in this final chapter, which could have been constructed differently. It's not bad, but pales so much in comparison to the third by trying to connect with it and fails worse than it would have without the third issue coming out as good as it did. It finally creates a very entertaining and coherent battle that made the final chapter satisfying, even if it did not offer as many new elements as the third issue.Scott Amundson writes the adventures of a silent warrior known only as the Barbarian who, with his allies, must break free and defeat the alien tribe of the Romisians. But the Romisians give the Barbarian an option to kill his allies, and the choice he makes will determine the fate of everyone around him.
After three issues of very incoherent action and just great dialogue from the Romisians, Amundson makes a sharp 180 and manages to make all the action scenes not only coherent but entertaining. These scenes are a great close to the mini-series but little is done with the Romisians that could have been making the build-up feel like it led to a cop-out. The ending does leave an opening for another mini-series though and I would be interested in picking that up after reading this, despite it's many other draw-backs.Again, the Romisians and the Barbarian are the most interesting characters with little love going to the regular humans. Though it doesn't really help when every one of them looks the same. Jim Lai's art is better where it was good last issue and worse where it was poor last issue. The character designs for the Romisians and the Barbarian have great facial expressions all around. The biggest problem is the neglected backgrounds. When there are backgrounds there are rarely any creative visuals and just floors marred with sharp lines. Also, the action scenes always seem to have no background other than a blinding primary color and air lines that have no purpose being there. It highlights the action a bit too much, with Michael Summer's colors having the same effect here as they did in the last issue: Too many warm colors that don't fit with the serious story line.You either love this issue or the last issue. This one for its action and easier to follow story line in general, or the great elements about the Romisians introduced in the last issue. If these elements had been more fleshed out in this issue and the mini-series had been a bit longer, it would have come out better, but with the poor -to- non-existent backgrounds and change in what seemed to be the story's direction from only an issue ago, this issue could have been better. However, it was still a lot of fun and a good read for a casual reader interested in a lot of action. I'm hoping for another mini to redeem this series, but for now I am satisfied and looking forward to reading more from these obviously creative, if sometimes confused, comic book creators.
An all-around nerdette, I’m a comic book connoisseur, horror aficionado, video game addict, anime enthusiast and an aspiring novelist/comic book writer. I am the head of the comic book department and the editor-in-chief of Entertainment Fuse. I also write and edit articles for Comic Frontline. I am also an intern at Action Lab Entertainment, a comic book publisher at which I edit comic book scripts, help work on images in solicitations and help with other comic book related project. My own personal website is comicmaven.com.
After three issues of very incoherent action and just great dialogue from the Romisians, Amundson makes a sharp 180 and manages to make all the action scenes not only coherent but entertaining. These scenes are a great close to the mini-series but little is done with the Romisians that could have been making the build-up feel like it led to a cop-out. The ending does leave an opening for another mini-series though and I would be interested in picking that up after reading this, despite it's many other draw-backs.
Again, the Romisians and the Barbarian are the most interesting characters with little love going to the regular humans. Though it doesn't really help when every one of them looks the same. Jim Lai's art is better where it was good last issue and worse where it was poor last issue. The character designs for the Romisians and the Barbarian have great facial expressions all around. The biggest problem is the neglected backgrounds. When there are backgrounds there are rarely any creative visuals and just floors marred with sharp lines. Also, the action scenes always seem to have no background other than a blinding primary color and air lines that have no purpose being there. It highlights the action a bit too much, with Michael Summer's colors having the same effect here as they did in the last issue: Too many warm colors that don't fit with the serious story line.
You either love this issue or the last issue. This one for its action and easier to follow story line in general, or the great elements about the Romisians introduced in the last issue. If these elements had been more fleshed out in this issue and the mini-series had been a bit longer, it would have come out better, but with the poor -to- non-existent backgrounds and change in what seemed to be the story's direction from only an issue ago, this issue could have been better. However, it was still a lot of fun and a good read for a casual reader interested in a lot of action. I'm hoping for another mini to redeem this series, but for now I am satisfied and looking forward to reading more from these obviously creative, if sometimes confused, comic book creators. 
