Dark Horse Comics, in collaboration with Ubisoft, begins a brand-new Assassin’s Creed adventure with its latest series, Assassin’s Creed Mirage: A Soar of Eagles, written by Michael Avon Oeming (Bluebook), with art by Mirko Colak (Lunar Lodge) and colors by Lauren Affe (Count Crowley).
The first issue of A Soar of Eagles kicks off a new chapter for Fuladh Al Haami and Roshan bint-La’Ahad, two Hidden Ones that Mirage fans will likely recognize. These two played a pivotal role in the eponymous video game, but are given a chance in this book to have their own stories unfold through the capable hands of this Dark Horse creative team. Because of Oeming’s careful script, there’s no need to have played the games before reading this book. This issue presents its own conflicts, and the different medium allows this Assassin’s Creed story to set its own stakes.
This three-part story turns back the clock for these characters, just enough to know that the two friends who are going into this story arc are going to come invariably changed, for better or worse, into the cunning assassin’s we’ve seen them become. There’s sometimes a difficulty in setting stakes in a prequel story, with the reader knowing that these characters will at least live through the events of the book, yet Oeming deftly dodges this by setting up the story as one concerned with bonding and change, rather than solely life-or-death stakes. The friendship between Roshan and Fuladh is set up to be central to this story, but the seriousness of the tasks they undertake, and the perspective through which we experience them, saves them from coming across as characters in a “buddy” film. They’re bound not just by friendship, but by blood and fate as well.
Roshan and Fuladh are on their way to investigate a possible disturbance linked to the Order of the Ancients, the proto-Templars who are the Hidden Ones’ sworn enemies (you don’t need to be a lore expert to follow along). However, their path shifts when Fuladh receives a call for help from an old friend, pulling them into a more personal mission involving the eagles that have long been associated with the Assassins. Roshan insists on joining him, despite his friend’s protests, showing just how deep their loyalty runs.
Oeming is taking this chance to present the reader with a fresh characterization of that ancient order we know so well, and it asks exciting questions. What binds the Assassins together when they are not facing their sworn enemies? What do relationships look like between members of this hidden sect when they aren’t swept up by history-shaping conflicts? By the end of the issue, Roshan and Fuladh don’t believe their target to have ties to the Order of the Ancients. Whether this will prove to be the case is yet to be seen, so the questions remain.
Oeming’s dialogue is tight, precise, and gives distinct voices to the characters, but the strongest element is the deliberate, methodical pace at which the issue moves through the plot. Working in blissful tandem with the art, the script employs subtlety over verbosity, providing not only physical room on the page for the art to stand out, but an engaging potency to the images as well.
The visual work done by Colak and Affe in this issue is nothing short of stunning. It’s incredible to see the way they give the contrast of dark and light such symbolic weight, almost mirroring the contrast between the Assassin’s hidden world and the unrelenting desert sun. Swaths of darkness obscure faces, save for a hidden grin or someone’s piercing eyes, while reds and blues and used to connect moments of peace to moments of violence and unrest that weave in and out of this story.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage: A Soar of Eagles #1 begins a promising new tale for fans of the franchise. With Oeming’s subtle, character-driven writing and the peerless artwork by Colak and Affe, this issue shines a light (a light that casts deep shadows) on an untold chronicle in the Assassin’s Creed universe. The bond between Fuladh and Roshan offers a compelling focus, while the story’s pacing and quiet world-building make it stand out from typical prequels. Returning fans of the series and newcomers alike will enjoy this efficient, self-contained story of political intrigue and unbreakable friendship.
