Writer – Jim Salicrup
Artist – Mark Bagley
Inker – Romeo Tanghal
Colours – Julianna Ferriter
Letters – Janice Chiang

New Valarak is a bright and beaming world in the cosmos, one of science where each and every whim can be made real. There is no straining oneself in the doing of menial tasks and leisure can be found in every nook and cranny. There is a change in the air though and soon enough, Prysmos and its’ three suns align for the first time in hundreds of years and the mage named Merklynn has returned. It heralds the end of science and the beginning of the next age of magic. Ships crash, robots die on the spot and cities grow dark leading to confusion and chaos until one day, men look to themselves to survive and knights like those of old once again walk the land. Writer Jim Salicrup works from the teleplay of the film to bear the name Visionaries and gives readers a tale of the fantastic and the start of a great new book when it premiered back in 1987. Joining him would be a young Mark Bagley whose artwork was quite solid for the time and together the two would create a world upon the printed page that would feature the age-old story of good versus evil, of those who would work for the common good and those who would only think of themselves. Considering how abrupt this fall from grace happened in New Valarak, one would think that everyone would try and help each other out through this hardest of times but Darkstorm would rather see those he considers less than himself serve as slaves. Thankfully Leoric stands against him and is willing to face the monster head-on, undaunted in the least and not afraid in the slightest. Soon, things are about to change again in New Valarak as the wizard Merklynn offers power untold for those willing to fight for it and of course, those both good and bad alike decide to seek it out. What follows is a lot of action and excitement thanks to Salicrup and Bagley that finds Leoric and his men beat out everyone else aside from Darkstorm and his men and to reach that final gate, they have to work together or risk losing the power completely. It is a very interesting moment to see, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime scene never to be repeated and just when one thinks that maybe there is something redeeming in Darkthorn, that goes out the window when the men and women receive their powers and totems. For a first issue, this book manages to introduce its main cast organically over the course of the book, create a new world and populate it with a history and a future that should be more than enjoyable to explore in further stories. Really good stuff.

4 out of 5