Do you like college students with problems? Magical books called The Sword? And witty dialogue? Then you won’t want to miss this review.

Here is the official description from Dark Horse:

“An evil witch doctor needs the book of spells known as the Sword to reject the Occultist. He needs the weapon itself to decide that he is a bad host in the ongoing war against the realm of the dead. The solution lies in a Catholic schoolgirl who dabbles in death for a quick high”

The Occultist doesn’t waste time with a lot of back story but, instead, jumps right ahead into the life of Rob. I won’t try to ruin it for you but the beginning starts with Rob taking down some baddies and it just gets better from there. It weaves Rob’s civic duty as the The Occultist, his love life, and the people that are going against him in a wonderful new issue of the “The Occultist”.

Tim Seely, a personal favorite of mine, writes in a way that really makes you feel for the character of Rob. Seely intertwines the importance of what Rob does but adds the humor that only he could write. It allows the reader to really get into the story and relate to him and what he has to go through. He, also, adds a little mystery to the story by introducing us to a character at the end, which will be of some importance for the future.

The artist, Mike Norton, visually stuns the reader with strokes of genius. This seasoned artist shows us what comic art should be like. Norton helps craft the story with amazing illustrations using Seely’s words. When Rob, uses spells, is when Norton really shines. The positioning and depth to the drawings in this really bring out the best in Norton’s abilities.

Overall, this is a great start to new part in the chapter of The Occultist. Seely continues to be a stand up writer in the comic community and with the art of Mike Norton, The Occultist, and promises to be an exciting and fresh story that everyone should take a look at. I give this a 4 out of 5.

4/5