The 7th Sword #1
Created and Written by John Raffo
Pencils and Inks by Nelson Blake II
Colors by Dave McCaig
Letters by Troy Peteri
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 23, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

What do you get when you cross a samurai with a planet that is constantly in the midst of civil war? Why, you get The 7th Sword #1, of course! On what appears to be a world somewhat akin to Dune, we have a warrior (now ronin) who was left behind with not much more than his sword and his wits. This is the first of seven issues that account for the actions of Daniel Cray and his deadly sword called a Malathane.

Having been left behind on Helios when the army with which he was serving retreated, Cray found himself doing odd mercenary jobs for survival. After an accident left him stranded and lost, he was rescued by a group living in the mythical ZenZion who think him the enemy. After the true villains attack, he finds himself defending this oasis…all the while still suspect. There’s a lot more to the story but suffice to say you’ll need to read it to stay on top of everything that’s going on here. This first issue is setting up the rest of the miniseries so it feels incomplete on many levels, but that’s to be expected, I suppose.