Terminus Media's DOMINION a "Star Wars in Narnia" Biblical Adventure

Biblically-inspired comic book stories are not a new thing. One could argue they go as far back as Superman himself, as an allegory to the tale of Moses. But that doesn't mean some of them can't feel like a new thing, and when they do it truly captures the imagination and runs wild with it.

This is the case behind DOMINION: FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUL, created by Dr. Barron Bell and co-written by Daniel Hancock. It's very much a re-interpretation of the Old Testament book of I Samuel, beginning with Saul already established as king and having  beaten the armies of the Amalekites one year prior. However, DOMINION gives this story a twist in that it is told using anthropomorphic beasts in an extra-galactic setting, making it a "Star Wars in Narnia" event.

The war against the Amalekites came at a great cost. Saul had been charged by The Almighty, through the high priest Samuel, to utterly destroy the Amalekites, including their vessels. Saul chose instead to capture the king and add the weapons and ships to his own armory as tribute to The Almighty. For this disobedience, Samuel curses Saul and walks away from him. He hasn't been seen for a year.

In the present setting, Saul's son, Jonathan, is returning with his crew from a deep space mission when they get a distress call from a colony. Upon arriving, they find the colony has been completely obliterated, the distress beacon having been sent from an automated system. Reconnoitering the area uncovers only one vital clue as to what happened: an enormous mechanical footprint.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, his reports of Goliath are regarded as a hoax, perpetrated by the Philistines to force Saul's armies into action in one direction while leaving other borders less defended. Jonathan appeals to his father, but in the past year since Samuel's abandonment -- and the abandonment of The Almighty on Saul's actions -- the king has grown more distraught, less confident in his abilities and compensating by being more adamant in his wrong decisions. This exposes to the reader the rift that has developed between father and son, one which will ultimately lead toward the end of a regime.

DOMINION: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUL #1 is published by Terminus Media, Bell proves to be more than a competent storyteller and someone versed in using the elements of comics to control pacing and narrative; he is also the illustrator, rendering anthropomorphism in a fashion that retains the realism aspects of the animals drawn upon while simultaneously giving them the expressive qualities attritubted to humans and their emotions.The inks and colors from Hunter Riggs and Christopher Hunt, respectively, give the characters the right textured look that adds to the reader's ability to accept them as active beings in a tale. This is definitely a book you want to seek out, if not through your local comic shop then from the publisher directly.

Bonus Content: Critical Blast had the opportunity to sit down with the writers of DOMINION: FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUL via a live-stream chat, provided below to give our readers further background on this title.