Comic Book Review - Lady Baltimore #1

Rob Lake reviews Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens #1...

Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens #1 picks up thirteen years after the conclusion to Mike Mignola's previous Baltimore series, The Red Kingdom. 

Mignola and long time collaborator, Christopher Golden have in a sense rebooted this stunning world with not only a new Lady Baltimore but with more tales in the 'Outerverse'. 

"Once she was Sofia Valk, living in a village overrun by evil. In time she became Lord Baltimore's most trusted ally. Now, more than a decade after his death, Europe has erupted with the early battles of World War 2 and dark forces are rising again. With witches, vampires, and Nazis on the march, Sofia must embrace the title of Lady Baltimore!  But can she fight monsters without becoming a monster herself?"

This opening issue to The Witch Queens kicks off to a pretty decent start. Mignola and Golden add just enough elements of the original series to show the change in the time frame. These references are littered throughout the narrative to The Witch Queens, but as a testament to Mignola's writing skills, you don't need to have read the previous series to know what's going on within this world. 

Bridgit Connell's amazing art sets the tone for this entire opening act. There are some tremendous facial expressions throughout as Connell further expands on the mindset of the titular Lady Baltimore. Aside from some amazing facial detail, Connell gives us some fantastic architectural work too. The whole 1930's setting looks amazing with Connell's detail to show the worn look to the surroundings. When you add in Michelle Masden's dark brooding use of moonlight and shadows, the whole issue is a phenomenal piece of work. 

Rating 8/10

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev