Thursday , March 28 2024
Felicia Day's Guild showcases the secret origin of Finn Smulders, Model Extraordinaire!

Comic Book Review: The Guild: Bladezz by Felicia Day and Sean Becker

Published as part of the celebration of Dark Horse Comics reaching its 25th Anniversary, this one shot of The Guild was a hoot to read. Completely unfamiliar with the series itself (apparently based on a web series created by Felicia Day, who co-wrote this comic with series director Sean Becker) I instantly fell in love with the story and plan to look up all that came before.

The story itself is the Guild presenting the “Secret Origin of Finn Smulders, Model Extraordinaire!” and is exactly as goofy as it sounds. That, by the way, is a good thing. Trust me.

In this issue, the Knights of Good guild’s brash young roe Bladezz! transforms into his (secret) alter ego, the supernaturally gifted young model Finn Smulders, through no fault of his own. Not really. All he wants to do is play the Game, but is thwarted in this when faced with a controlling mom, know-it-all sister and the obnoxious photographer who is a (dreadfully) potential stepfather.

Bladezz finds himself duped into doing some advertising posing for the potential stepfather only to black out and discover that, though he has no recollection of it, he apparently is a modeling savant and shot some amazing (and amazingly cheesy) shots. Only problem with that? What if someone notices that these photos are him? Also, what if his awesomeness as a model leads to his potential stepfather having enough success to actually become his “real” stepfather?

Which would be an issue as he keep waiting for his parent’s divorce to be over so his dad will return.

Can Bladezz use his newly discovered powers to save the day? Can he come up with a better name for his alter ego than Pseudonym Twain? Can he keep his new identity secret? And… can any good possibly come from fatherly advice from fellow guild-mate Vork?

More than one of these is a doubtful thing. Seriously.

Ridiculous, brash, funny as hell and way more entertaining than I would have originally given it credit for, The Guild: Bladezz one shot is well worth the read whether or not you are familiar with the series from where it springs. It is good enough to make one (me!) want to see (and read!) more from Felicia Day.

Released June 22, 2011, The Guild Bladezz is published by Dark Horse Comics and has a cover price of $3.50. It has variant covers available and is well worth the purchase.

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