Image Comics Review: A Man Among Ye – Volume 1

Review: A Man Among Ye – Volume 1

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Craig Cermark

Colorist: Brittany Pezzillo (Issue 1), John Kalisz (Issues 2-4)

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Review By: Kendra Hale

Summary

If ever I’ve had a smooth read, it’s A Man Among Ye Volume 1. Set at the ending of the Golden Age of pirates and packed with familiar characters, as well as history, this series is action packed and wrought with the smell of the sea. If you had asked me years ago what I wanted from a comic… this is it.  To see a female lead who was compassionate, yet held her own, who not only yearned for adventure, but grabbed it by the short hairs. 

A Man Among Ye Volume 1 gives us the first four issues of the series that follows the Queen of pirates herself, Anne Bonny. As writer Stephanie Phillips puts it best, we are on the edge of fact and fiction as we meet Anne and her husband “Calico Jack” Rackham. Meet the stowaway Mary Read, Jane Castor, Pirate Hunter Woodes Rogers, and the Pirate King Charles Vane as the action unfolds and makes everyone yearn for the Pirate’s life. 

Positives

Watching this tale unfold as Anne shows all sides of her character is masterful. For a moment, I thought I had missed an issue. It was that seamless of a flow. The artwork is stunning and truly makes these characters real. The attention to detail is wonderful as you can quite literally see the history speaking to you from the pages just by looking at clothing, guns, and even the ships themselves. 

Mutiny, Betrayal, Adventure, Action, High Seas Shenanigans.  The price of freedom is steep, but to set your course wherever the wind may roam with nothing to bog you down, now that’s freedom. True and pure. A Man Among Ye Volume 1 not only embodies this, but with the writing and art, it brings it to life.

Negatives

Absolutely none. 

Verdict

For fans of Treasure Island, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Treasure Planet, or just this time frame in general, this is it. This is the book for you. I am a huge fan of Anne Bonny, and the way this team presents the known and the what if’s is just enjoyable.  I don’t want to spoil any of it for any one else because it is that good.  Do yourself a favor and dive in, you won’t regret it.