Would you be willing to sacrifice everything for love? This dilemma is common in the comfort of our modern world but it becomes even more complicated in the magical and ravaged world of this integral of the Coda series released by Glénat comics.
The world after
Taking advantage of the heroes' lack of organization, the Dark Lord defeated the heroes but this terrible fight caused the magic to almost disappear. The survivors try to survive in a hellish world. Hum is a mysterious bard who speaks far less than he writes. He is looking for a cure to save his beloved. During his journey, he arrives at a fortress where Queen Whunda Sartlak wants to make him her champion. Will he leave his quest to help others? 
Between Mad Max and The Lord of the Rings
In Coda, the fan of heroic fantasy will certainly find magic, mythological animals and titanic fights. However, in this world created by screenwriter Simon Spurrier, magic can no longer feed supernatural beings and so the world lives on the ruins of a past civilization. For several years, the reader has been accustomed to post-apocalyptic stories that describe survival in a world dominated by the law of the strongest. However, the magic brings original elements : Hum is a bard paid to the saga but who finds himself unemployed. To survive, he will recover flesh from the skeleton of a dragon that still speaks.
Between Ruthless and Bilbo the Hobbit
However, Hum is not at all nostalgic for the world before. He even mocks magicians and their hypocrisy. This sets the tone for an often ironic tale about the shackles of the heroic fantasy. In Coda, the search for glory has given way to the quest for ichor, a phosphorescent drug that stimulates the magic of animals or human beings. So we feel influences of the modern western where the old ideal world has become very dark: a madman of the king is a looter. Hum is a lonely cowboy wandering through desert landscapes.
An anti-hero in love
Far from the knight, Hum is a cynical anti-hero thinking only of his interests. He agrees to help Queen Whunda Sartlak because his city hides an inexhaustible source of magic, exactly what he needs to find his wife. He becomes more touching in the second part of the story when he finds his wife. He does everything to save her from trouble because his wife is not a victim to be saved… Another originality of Coda is the drawing of Matias Bergara. We can think of a Franco-Belgian style for youth by the faces reduced to the essentials. While the storyline features supernatural actions, Bergara chooses small squares and even smaller characters in empty landscapes. In the same desire for contrast, its bright colors nuance the disillusioned purpose of the story. 
While the cover suggests yet another fantasy story, Coda is much smarter. The script initially has fun mixing fantasy and post-apocalyptic story before branching off into a touching impossible love story. This ample saga binds nicely because despite the massive fights, it focuses on a handful of characters including a grumpy bard very funny. If you are interested in love and adventure stories, we cannot advise you enough to read Invisible Kingdom which you can find the chronicle on this link.
