The Mice Templar Volume 3 Part 7

Mice, swords, and sorcery…what more could a person want? This book reminds me so much of the classic animations of the 80’s, except that it’s a bit deeper than those children’s cartoons, which only makes it better.

Being new to the book, I made the mistake of bypassing the preface and the glossary of terms which were listed at the beginning. There’s only so much that I can gather from trudging through the storyline, and I’m really glad the writer’s included explanatory work at the beginning. Once I rummaged through a few necessary terms, the story really started to fall together.

The Mice Templar Volume 3 Part 7 | Bryan Glass | Victor Santos

This issue begins in the heart of the mouse kingdom, Dealrach Ard-Vale to be exact, as a group of rats escort a small caravan of servants. Suddenly, a group of white clothed mice, who I naturally assumed were Readers of the Wheat (if I’m wrong, don’t blame me! I’m new to the series!). A few slices and dices later, and the Rat escort is reduced to nothing more than a lump of limbs and tails. The story then jumps forward to a group of young rebels as they decide how best to join the effort. We discover that the most passionate among them, a youth named E’Tan, will have a tough time fitting in among the proper rebellion.

By far, the most interesting part of this issue is the training of One Armed Leito. Like the much used story-archetype, his master, Pilot, is a rough and tumbling sage who admonishes his young mousey student to follow the proper pathway. During their training, a sudden attack by Druid loyalists leads to a huge twist…but I won’t give it away.

Overall, this issue was a pretty great read. Admittedly, it was difficult to digest for a first time reader, but I could still acknowledge that there were a lot of good aspects. Victor Santos’s artwork is brilliant as it properly exaggerates this world of mice and fantasy, but simultaneously dredging it through layers of realism and grit. Bryan Glass’s script is equally great, except for moments when the dialogue seems a little too contrived. I understand that this is a period piece and it needs to sound lofty with gravitas, but there are moments where the dialogue is just too damn artificial. All in all, it’s a pleasant read and I plan on reading its TPB’s as soon as Amazon can ship them.

3.5/5