Broken Frontier

Last month, I wrote what I thought was a really decent review for Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm #1.  That story followed a handsome and daring prince through a wild and action-packed journey.  At the end of that issue, the prince miraculously transformed into a shadow version of himself and things became very interesting.  I was very much looking forward to finding out what happened next but, unless I missed it, this issue didn’t show Prince Dastan at all.  Weirdly enough, though, the story was still an incredibly captivating and interesting read.  The stories were well written, and the storytelling was top notch.

As I mentioned in the review for the first issue, I have never played any of the Prince of Persia games, and I still haven’t seen the movie, so I don’t know if any of these side stories have anything to do with Prince Dastan’s back story, but to the outside observer, it certainly doesn’t seem like it.  Still, what this comic does accomplish is creating a more realistic world for the readers to immerse themselves in.  

These stories gave the reader an incredible look at the cultural values and norms of the society in which the characters live.  Without making the story all about culture, Jordan Mechner creates a whole new world by borrowing pieces of existing culture and mythology.  The result is a world that’s similar enough to real life that it’s easy to understand and relate to, but at the same time it’s fantastical enough that the story itself is interesting and takes you out of your own life.

This issue explores the life of a foreign knife-throwing slave, a clumsy but successful con man, and the member of a harem that seduced men into complete devotion.  While none of these are realistic descriptions of people that most of us run into day-to-day, the characters themselves are very easy to connect with.  They all sort of long for a sense of freedom, which is something that the average person can relate to. 

The art is on par with last issue: dynamic, full of character, exciting and eye-catching. The attention to detail in creating the settings and backgrounds definitely helped pull the reader into the story, and create a believable world.  The diversity with regards to the cast of characters, both main and extra, also aids in creating a realistic setting.

While the stories were without a doubt entertaining and interesting, part of me wishes that Prince Dastan could have at least made a small cameo.  Readers won’t regret picking this book up at all, but after the cliffhanger from last issue, I, and I’m sure other readers as well, have been waiting to see what happens next.  It was only slightly disappointing to not see anything about that.