Forgotten Queen #1
Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Amilcar Pinna
Letterer: Jeff Powel
Publisher: Valiant
Review by Josh Rose
The Mongol Empire was the largest empire in the history of the world. So what if it was built in part because of the actions of a warrior witch? What if she was brought back to the modern world? That is the premise of The Forgotten Queen #1. While marine archaeologists search for Mongolian artifacts, the readers are introduced to Vexana at the same time that she introduces herself to Temüjin (aka Genghis Khan).
One of the things I loved most about this was the marine archaeological expedition angle that Tini Howard threw in. It’s a nice way to tie the two time periods together and bring the immortal warmonger into the present. However, I might be slightly biased with my passion for history and archaeology! Regardless, Howard does a great job introducing Vexana and bringing her into the modern day. I’m curious as to what kind of fallout she will bring with her.
Amilcar Pinna’s art is engaging and fun to look at. Characters’ faces are very expressive, and his colours are vibrant — especially the blues and reds. The panel layout was easy to follow for the most part, but there were a few moments when it was unclear which panel to read next. It wasn’t intuitive. Jeff Powel’s lettering is very good as well. It’s dynamic and fun to look at, but there’s some room for improvement — especially with the placing of dialogue bubbles.
The Verdict: Buy it.
The Forgotten Queen #1 is a brilliant start to a new series about yet another immortal in the Valiant Universe, but everything about this is fresh. New characters and untapped history mean there’s so much potential. I hope to see Vexana meet Gilad the Eternal Warrior or even Baba Yaga in the future.
