The main character is a hardened, unyielding and arrogant cow, her opponent is a spoilt, psychotic rich kid and her direct superiors are indifferent and judgemental. The only vaguely sympathetic portrayal in the whole story comes with the mention of Pucelle’s former mentor, Meier and even then the character can never actually admit to what he’s doing due to social standing and thus appreciation of *what* he has done for her is marred by the fact that he’s powerless.

Schezerade herself is a fully-fledged class traitor. This is a difficult thing to deal with in the context of the story because you are put in the position where you either have to a.) accept the fact that she’s going against her entire clan or b.) accept that her clan aren’t worth saving and ultimately *deserve* their fate as second class citizens (as Meier does). This is a really bitter pill to swallow because once you accept that fact you have to ask…who else *deserves* what they get, which in turns causes you to question every single character in the title.

And that’s what makes it a rich story.

We’ve seen a lot of shit pass under the bridge claiming to be ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’ over the last few years. “Seraphim Wing” is truly dark in that there is no way to feel any kind of comfort in the three sequences that comprise the issue. Each scene has an oppressive bleakness and claustrophobia usually shied away from by the majority of ‘dark’ books and it’s that fact that makes this worth reading.

I can’t say I’m looking forwards to reading more of Schezerade’s story because, in all honesty, I predict only the worst for her. I am however thinking that on merit of its atmosphere and set up, this is one of the best openings I’ve read in a long time.

Keep up the good work!