Briar #1

It's definitely a good sign when the first issue of a comic is already an oversized thirty-two pages long and it's still not even close to being enough to satisfy you. A triumph of world-building, scene-setting and dark fantasy excess, Briar takes the familiar and makes it unfamiliar, twisting the safe ‘happily every after' world into something dark and deadly. Highest possible recommendation. Read Full Review

BRIAR #1 is a pitch perfect opening that smartly twists the traditional fairytale we are familiar with into something much darker but deeply intriguing. Excellent character writing and beautiful stylized art wonderfully suited to the story being told elevate this first issue to the highest level possible. Its conceits are original and exciting and sink their hooks into you from the opening line. A genuinely fantastic first issue. Read Full Review

'Briar' builds on classic fairy tale tropes to create a singular vision, one that breaks down the classic stories without losing sight of the fantastic. It's already my favorite new series of 2022. Read Full Review

A brilliant blend of fantasy genres, Briar sees Christopher Cantwell and German Garcia take a classic fairy tale and throw it into the land of sword & sorcery for a brutal and refreshing first chapter. Read Full Review

There is a lot of spoken emotion in Briaras the princess attempts to rationalize her situation. This leads to this first issue being a visual and narrated comic. The quick divergence of something familiar twists this comic book into a tragic tale. With no Aurora in this story, Briar looks to head into the dark thickets. Read Full Review

Garcia delivers some beautiful art that transports the reader into a new, lush and visually powerful world.  Read Full Review

Gorgeous art and compelling dark fantasy make Briar #1 a must-read for those who love to see fairy tales turned upside down. Read Full Review

I'm greatly intrigued by this series and Briar #1 did a great job of selling me on this world, characters, and plot. Read Full Review

Final ThoughtsBriar #1 mixes horror and fantasy to mostly good effect.  Briar and Spider are interesting characters and make a great duo, but the book needs more focus on an end goal.  There was a bit too much stumbling around this issue, but hopefully the story will be tighter and more focused over the next three issues. Read Full Review

A fascinating origin sets itself apart from many other dark takes on famous fairy tales. Read Full Review

When all is said and done, Briar #1 crafts a strong setup for what could be a good story. But with so much of exactly what this series will be about still in the dark, it is hard to know what exactly all this setup will be about. Read Full Review

Briar #1 has excellent ideas that I hope the creative team can pull off throughout the series. Read Full Review

There's some dark humor in the comic's early narration, but that fades away with zombie princess stumbling through the woods. Eventually her humanity returns only to see her captured by slavers. This is decidedly not a Disney story. While an interesting idea, the zombie disappears too soon as does the wit at the beginning of the tale as the comic fails to sell me on this version of Briar Rose or the setting she finds herself in. Read Full Review

With its unique take on the Sleeping Beauty story, Briar #1 is a perfect fairy tale retelling for people that typically don't enjoy them.  Read Full Review

Hailey

Sep 28, 2022

What a fantastic start, I'm loving almost everything about this already.

Gizmo

Oct 05, 2022

I can't say I have any interest in the re-imagined fairy tale genre, but this made some interesting choices, propped up with very nice art.