Ardan is an elf, the last of his kind, who's being hunted by some bad guys named the Horde. Narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, Ardan seeks refuge at the Temple of Ithra, where he is trained in the way of the samurai by the grumpy, enigmatic master dwarf. When Horde robot ninjas attack the Temple, Ardan runs away, teams up with a sympathetic innkeeper's daughter and sets off to find his destiny. For a fannish mishmash of Star Wars
, Lord of the Rings
and kung fu movies, this graphic novel feels oddly inert. Guerra's art is carefully rendered, resulting in a clean line and showing a nice command of gray scale and shadow. But he seems more comfortable in the realm of still life and concept art than dynamic motion: his slavish rendering of action scenes robs them of some necessary chaos and life. (Also, a choice to render word balloons as semitransparent is odd and distracting.) Guerra and Dias have clearly taken great pains to develop an alien world, but those pains weigh down the story with exposition exactly when the pedal ought to be pressing to the floor. Guerra and Dias should loosen up and enjoy the playfulness of their premise. (Aug.)
