Red Roots #3
Writer & Artist: Lorenzo De Felici
Design: Drew Gill
Lettering: Rus Wooton
Red Roots #3 continues where the second issue ended, with Kate hanging on by the end of a rope and Sand demanding answers from Grit about, well, everything. The world remains ominous and full of mystery for both the protagonists and the readers.
Since its first issue, Red Roots has been a very well-paced fantasy story full of horror, action, and mystery. Throughout the series, it takes its time to establish and explain the elements we see without rushing, something that I really appreciate but also fear in a series that is only going to be five issues long.
With Grit, the tall orc like monster defusing the situation, he takes Sand to battle while he passes Kate to Truko, a mount that takes her to the infirmary. This beat creates a great view for the reader, allowing us to see both the frontlines of this new and still mysterious battle, and the emergency rooms behind it, painting us a world in constant struggle.
To get to the battlefield, Grit takes Sand to an ever growing pit, which is the entrance for the battlefield, a nice visual and addition to this world and a quick way to take us to battle without a time skip.
Back in the hospital tents, Kate’s Myopia is healed by the tentacles of a combat medic in order to make her effective as a medic. I like this scene and it is something a lot of us would like to go through but it does not take this story into any new places, nor expands the lore it wishes to create.(something I only believe due to its issue count)
With Grit and Sand fighting while Kate tends to the injured, we now see how difficult and bloody this battle is. However, the enemies remain characterless, and since we see a union of various monsters fighting against a large number of similar monsters, it becomes difficult to fully understand the situation visually, especially since nothing is explained through exposition.
The issue ends with Sand again injured and on the way towards the medical tents, Grit still in battle and Katy now told that this is not just a war, but it is the war. I line I liked as an issue ender but overall continues this lack of exposition in exchange for building up its mystery.
Lorenzo De Felici has done an excellent job crafting this story as well as drawing it, its colors are scorching, and its battles are bloody and cramped. The designs for the creatures are fun, although the enemy monsters are very copy pasted in comparison to the huge variety that the allied monsters show.
Overall, This issue expands on the previous mysteries of this world, throwing us head first into a battle against monsters, and its costs. However, it still does not explain anything that occurs, I really enjoy this way of storytelling and I like where this is going, but I fear this would only work if this was an ongoing or a 12-8 issue series. In a 5 issue series, this pacing might come at a cost that is too heavy for it’s length to pay.