Issue: Priest Volume 3
Writer & Artist: Min-Woo Hyung
Translator: Lauren Na
English Adaptation: Jake Forbes
Cover Artist: Raymond Swanland
Editor: Jake Forbes
Publisher: Tokyopop
Release Date: November 2002
Pages: 176
Price: $9.99
“While railroad men and pioneer familes expand into the
frontier of the old west, a secret war is being waged between two
factions: the followers of Temozarela, an angel of blood fallen from
Heaven, and those who stand against the darkness he represents.
Temozarela’s cult spreads plague in its wake as it attempts to pave the
way for its master. The agents of righteousness face the scorn of
Christians and heathens alike in their secret mission. And somewhere in
between stands Ivan Isaacs, a priest who sold his soul to the devil
Belial for the power to fight the darkness. Both sides need him to reach
their goals, but Ivan has plans of his own.“
Artwork: 3.5 out of 5
Not being too much different than previous volumes, lends to the overall
appeal of a long running series like this. Once again we are treated to
black and white pages, this volume however moves from the monsters to
the creepy feel of how a demon is living. Nice shading and solid
character designs help distract from the major downside, the lettering.
It’s not that it is all bad, but they seem to give the demons and
monsters their own unique fonts, which can be good, but these border on
not being legible at times. I would give this a solid 4 but not being
able to read some portions really takes away from what is going on.
Story: 4.5 out of 5
I may have made the mistake of starting to read Priest and Hellsing
at the same time. While the idea’s are somewhat similar, monster
hunting, the execution and plot are different. That being said I have
felt that what Priest was lacking was good story depth. Then I
got to Vol. 3. While it starts off like the 2 previous volumes, this one
dives deep into what is going on and then throws you for a loop as it
jumps ahead to the future. I couldn’t believe the huge twist as I was
really wondering if I would continue on reading this series, and now all
I can wonder is when Vol. 4 will come in.
Dying Breath: 4.0 out of 5
The previous volumes were good, but nothing spectacular, then Vol. 3
came along and shook up the dynamic of this series. While I found
faults in a few phases of this volume, I found that the whole was very
good and very interesting at the end. I still don’t know if I would say
that I prefer this one over Hellsing but if Vol. 4 can add more
to what I just read, it’s going to give it a great shot. Take a chance
and check out this book, you might be happy you did!
