A comiXologist recommends:
The Legend of Bold Riley: The Below

by: Eric Arroyo

Sword-and-sorcery adventures have never been as refreshing as they are in The Legend of Bold Riley. Princess Rilavashana SanParite, called Bold Riley, has abandoned her royal duties to sample the world’s most forlorn tombs, most harrowing battles, and most beautiful women. Each of her adventures is a self-contained story, but contributes to Bold Riley’s continuing journey, building a beautiful and dangerous world I’d love to run a tabletop campaign in.

The Below #1 is a great jumping-on point for new readers, treating us to two stories which show breadth of Bold Riley’s stories:

In “How the Coin Was Made,” artist Der-shing Helmer (contributor to The Sleep of Reason) joins series writer Leia Weathington to depict the world’s creation myth, illustrating the formation of the flat earth and shedding light on the mythical Patrons who wander it. Helmer’s control of color gives the tale an emotive resonance, capturing the feeling of listening to an elder’s tale over a fire, and their depictions of the world’s prehistory are an enchanting introduction to the series’ tone.

Blue Delliquanti (O Human Star) follows up on art in “Strong Arms,” a smaller-scoped and light-hearted story in which Bold Riley can’t resist a horde of muscle-bound and gorgeous women, even when it leads to her interrupting a ceremonial wrestling competition. While introducing the village of Nnlongo, Delliquanti captures one of my favorite aspects of The Legend of Bold Riley, depicting a lived-in fantasy world that isn’t Eurocentric, instead drawing from a wide variety of world cultures. And Delliquanti’s great character design is put to good use in this story, with the women who make Bold Riley weak in the knees (and slam her into the dirt) showing off a wide variety of body types.

If you’re looking for sword-and-sorcery stories that build off the classics with a modern sensibility, jump into The Legend of Bold Riley with The Below #1, or check out her past adventures.

[Read The Legend of Bold Riley: The Below on comiXology]

Eric Alexander Arroyo is a Brooklyn-based cartoonist and a Digital Editor at comiXology. He’s itching to run a new Exalted campaign.