Comic Book Stop Review

Saltire Books 1 & 2 – Diamondsteel Comics – Review

Posted on December 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

Saltire
Created by: John Ferguson
Art Created by: Tone Julskjaer, Gary Welsh
Publisher: Diamondsteel Comics
Editors: John & Clare Ferguson
Art Editor: Phillip Vaughan

By John Ferguson

Scotland; filled with myth and legend, a country steeped in history and achievement, its people content with who they are and where they come from. One of the oldest nations in the world, it has a unique identity, distinct from its European neighbors, a land of poets and philosophers, warriors and heroes. It is remarkable that this ancient realm has had no champion within the comic book genre.

Centuries ago when perceived wisdom suggested the Earth was flat, Scotland was considered “the end of the world”, where all journeys cease. Journeys of hope and tragedy, triumph and despair. Now a new journey begins.

Scotland is beginning its second renaissance. Its culture and traditions revitalised. This book is part of that renaissance. Saltire embraces both the country’s forgotten past and bright future.

The creation of Saltire has utilised all that modern Scotland has to offer, its creativity and intellect, its drive and determination, and its invention and entrepreneurship.

Welcome to Scotland’s first superhero!

* Preface from Saltire Vol. 1

If there is one genre I love in literature, movies or TV, it is fantasy. Movies like Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Harry Potter are among my favorites. When given the chance to review a comic book that mixes this genre with Scottish mythology, it definitely caught my interest. Now most comic books have an American hero, in an American city. But not Saltire. Saltire is a Scottish superhero, set in ancient Scotland. He just doesn’t protect one city or town, but the whole country of Scotland from all evil that comes to its shores.

Cover of Saltire: Book One – Invasion

At the time of this review, there were currently two chapters (or  ’books’ in the series) out for Saltire, ‘Invasion’ and ‘Inception’. The first book, Invasion, introduces us to the plot of this new series. The ninth legion of Rome is training and planning for their next mission, to conquer the land of Scotland. Realizing the threat of the empire, the guardians of Scotland, from the Highlands of Shadow and the Valleys of Light, come together to summon Saltire, the ultimate guardian.

Saltire’s design is awesome. He is blue, he is a ginger, and a superhero you do not want to mess with. Saltire also has blue glowing tattoos on his arms, making the character even more awesome and god like. He looks like a guardian that can give Thor a run for his money. He has super strength, and wields for weapons two swords, but not just any two ordinary swords. These swords are forged with Diamondsteel,  an industructable metal. I must admit I love this name, Diamondsteel.

When Saltire faces the Romans, the Romans then realize they are no match for him.  They then summon their own guardian, Mars Ultor. I have to say this is my favorite part of the book because as I began reading it, I wondered what kind of villains would Saltire face? Would he only be facing countless Roman soldiers, or would there be one big super villain? In this book, John & Clare Ferguson do not disappoint. The panels with Saltire and Mars Ultor were brilliant and packed with action. The idea of Saltire, the Scottish guardian, facing the gods or guardians of other nations, is a great concept. This mixes with the fantasy/mythology direction the book is going in and I look forward to what other gods or guardians from mythology the writers will come up with next.

Battle between Saltire (Left) and Mars Ultor (Right).

Moving onto the second book, ‘Inception’, this chapter tells us how Saltire came to be. The character is created through human sacrifice from souls of warriors from the Highlands of Shadows and the Valleys of Light. This magical process produces 12 stone fragments, and Saltire. The character is given more depth in this chapter compared to what we have seen in the first chapter. Saltire recognizes the souls who sacrificed for his creation, and that he will not forget what they did that day. He honors their memory by taking a personal oath to defend Scotland from all evil. It shows that while he is the ultimate guardian, he is humbled by these warriors who have given their lives for the greater good of Scotland.

Map of Ancient Scotland in the Saltire Universe.

Throughout the book, we get to see numerous characters that are in the ancient Scotland universe. There is definitely a lot of ground to cover. There are new characters and more myths and legends. While I don’t want to give too much away, if you enjoyed the first chapter, you will enjoy this one with all the legends and mythology the chapter covers.

The art direction in this series goes well with the genre it is portraying. The colors are simple with just the right amount of light and dark shading. When the book is depicting a peaceful Scotland, the colors are soft and light. When battles begin, the colors really come out at you. There is a good amount of heavenly glow surrounding the gods and guardians and it works really well.

If there is one thing that is missing from this comic book that is present in all comic book culture, it is sounds effects that go across the page when the action begins. Again, while not giving too much away, there are certain panels where there weren’t any CLANGS or BOOMS where the action was taking place. This is not something that takes away from the story or the action, it is just something that is in every comic book that I noticed was not present when reading.

All in all, this is great comic book. Being from across the Atlantic, in America, there isn’t a lot of Scottish culture I am familiar with, besides the Loch Ness monster. When I think of the UK, I think of famous characters like James Bond, Doctor Who and Harry Potter. Saltire, being the first Scottish superhero, is a great idea. It shows the culture of comic books is beyond the American shores and is going international. It is also a great alternative to the superhero comics of today. While Saltire is Scotland’s first superhero, he is a superhero set in the fantasy genre where mythology, magic and sorcery are combined.

I do believe John and Clare Ferguson are onto something here, and look forward to seeing more of the Ultimate Scottish Guardian, Saltire. If you would like to purchase the first volume of Saltire, it is available on Amazon here.

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4 out of 5+Great concept.
+Art is colorful, sets the atmosphere
of the genre it is portraying.
+Saltire’s design is great.
+Diamondsteel blades, love the name.
+Very knowledgeable of mythology.
-Missing the sounds effects
on the comic books pages (CLANGS! BOOMS! Etc.).

I do not own any of the images of Saltire published by Diamondsteel Comics.
Images can be found through Google Images search engine.