Andrew Maclean

Solid fun, with a lovely blend of humour and serious storytelling. The take on the undefeatable lone barbarian warrior might not be particularly original (though his visual with the huge white beard is a fun touch), but the dynamic of his constant bickering with the chatty decapitated witch's head he carries about adds a lot of distinctive flair and personality to the story anyway. The artwork is at times really pretty and cool, at times highly stylicised, both of which work -- though I'm a show more bit less happy with some panels where an in-between style is attempted, making some things look involuntarily silly (the protagonist's face disappearing in white hair in relatively close-up frames for instance) or action hard to follow. Thankfully, these are fairly far between.

This is fun sword and sorcery with a big dollop of humour, and I'm looking forward to when I have the time to check out the remaining volumes. show less

The great bearded barbarian, his not-very-cooperative foul-mouthed decapitated witch carry-on and his two formidable recent warrior companions, try to make their way through a series of deadly challenges in a cursed tower. So, too, do three little local critter brothers, in way, way above their heads.

A solid sword & sorcery tale that despite the relatively simple premise brings humour, thrills and pathos to the story of Head Lopper. An excellent second volume! I still find the simple cartoon show more artwork to be a double-edged sword -- it can be very effective, but it can also be tough to follow -- but beyond that, I have no real notes. This is excellent use of the genre, telling solid, human stories with outrageous monsters and over-the-top action while also consistently making the corners of my mouth -- or even my heartstrings -- twitch just the way MacLean intended. show less

This has to be one of the most accurate titles ever, in that the story is about a white-bearded warrior who lops off heads. Constantly. I mean there's more to it than that, but basically every problem is solved with a severed head.

Despite its lack of complexity I still had a great time reading it. There's nearly nonstop action and each issue is set in a different location as the warrior journeys along his quest. What is his backstory? No idea. Why is he forced to carry around the talking show more head of a witch? Who knows. Will there be lots of cartoonish violence? Indeed!

Speaking of cartoonish, the art is definitely influenced by creators such a Mike Mignola, and for the most part I enjoyed it. It's also a very brightly colored book (my wife even said she wanted to read it after flipping through it because it was "cute"--I'm betting after the seventh decapitation she changes her mind). Overall it was a quick, fun read, and I'm interested in seeing where things go in volume 2. show less

I really enjoyed the first Head Lopper book. I liked this one too, as a sword-and-sorcery tale but less so as a graphic novel. I found the panels and graphics frenetic (probably as intended) but also confusing. For some reason Head Lopper's head was often rendered as a kind of white marshmallow without a distinguishable face.