Excellence: Vol. 1 – Kill the Past Summary:
Spencer Dales was born into a world of magic. His father belongs to Aegis, a secret society of black magicians ordered by their unseen masters to better the lives of others—those with greater potential—but never themselves. Now it’s time for Spencer to follow in his father’s footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But in this fight for a better future, who will stand beside him?
Overall
If you are in the market for a new urban fantasy read, Excellence created by Brandon Thomas and Khary Rudolph is definitely worth a read.
The first volume mainly follows the Dales family and those close to them. The Dales are one of ten lines who hold a high place in society and a certain level of power in the Aegis, a secret society of black magicians. Spencer’s father and those around him place high expectations onto Spencer for both power and conformity from his birth, where the story begins. Spencer, who struggles to meet these expectations as a child grows into a bitter and angry young man with some major daddy issues.
It’s clear that a lot of thought went into this work and there is a lot going on that makes me want to reread the first volume again. The book is full of powerful and dramatic relationship and character-building scenes. They keep the reader on their toes so they never know exactly what is going on.
Story
Thomas and Rudolph built a rich world set in an interesting society with explicit rules. Though clearly a type of urban fantasy, the world takes on its own cultural style through both the interior and exterior architecture of buildings and the character’s wardrobes.
In volume 1 the story really centers around relationships between the male characters and the events and history that shape the characters. The question in the comic’s official summary “who will stand beside him” also alludes to the importance of relationships. That being said, it’s clear in the first volume at least that it’s only the male-to-male relationship that matters.
One critique of the graphic novel is the use of female characters as props and place holders. It’s obvious the few female characters used have no agency or life of their own. They tried to excuse this by making their place in the fictional society low. The comic uses them to direct Spencer and then shoves them aside until he needs to be redirected again. This use of female characters is not unique to this comic. Female characters have been used like this for decades. However, as a female reader, I wasn’t impressed with this aspect of the comic and hope it changes in future volumes.
Art
The artwork is beautiful and functional. They use propaganda posters throughout the book to help with world building in addition to exposition and dialogue. The cipher revealed at the end of the volume is also a really cool feature that makes the book an interesting reread.
Excellence: Vol. 1-Kill the Past is available now.
