EYES ON WAR PARTY PART 3
A War Party is formed by colonial fighters to rescue an abducted child after receiving powers from a tribe of skin-walkers.
The story thus far goes like this: After returning to Dyani’s camp the War Party is born when each member transforms into their beast totem. Only brother John refuses, for fear he may become guilty of sorcery, which his faith prohibits. In pursuit of young Sara, they ambush the remaining British forces in a swamp, and follow up with an assault on the French Fort Duquesne, but not before Rowtag is safe within its walls with his captive.
The French artillery overwhelms the attackers and James loses his beast form, and his wolf pelt, when he sees John’s life in danger. Meanwhile, Sarah is delivered to the Marquis, and Rowtag is paid for his services. James can only resume his beast through copulation, and Dyani gives herself to him so he may continue in his fight to rescue Sarah. The story continues in issue 5.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
The creative team of War Party issue 5 consists of Justin Murphy as the writer, artist, and letterer and J. Brown as the Colorist. Cover art for issue 5 was also done by Justin. Dyani’s War Diary was written and illustrated by Justin Murphy. Colored by J. Brown, James Offredi, and Ula Mos. Art contributions by Preston Asevedo, and TaissOnair. The graphic design of the diary was done by Breanna Roux.
Justin Murphy is a professor of animation and illustration working in comic book publishing since 1992. J. Brown is a veteran of the comics industry working for Marvel, Defiant, Moonstone, Big City, and IDW.
THE BOOKS
The 32-page Issue 5 is printed in the traditional comic book floppy format on good-quality paper similar to the previous issues. The only difference is the placing of the comic book details in the left corner of the book.
The 1st printing of Dyani’s War Diary has 38 pages printed on high-quality paper in full color. It comes with an embossed, gold foil-stamped brown leather-like hardcover cover with an unprinted spine. The book contains beautiful interior art with a credit page and an index page followed by a diary entry for each significant year accompanied by an art page illustrating the Dyani of the given time. Each of those art pages was turned into a trading card. The books were published by Rampart Press.
THE STORIES
WAR PARTY #5 TWO FRONTS
When James regains his beast form, he makes a rescue plan for Dyani to execute. Dyani goes along with Tawa to rescue Sarah. But Dyani is captured by Rowtag and forced to give him the secret of transformation, as the War Party finds itself fighting on two fronts against both the French and British Army.
DYANI’S WAR DIARY
The Diary has Dyani’s entries, and illustrations featuring War Party shaman Dyani in different historical periods, from pre-history and well into the future. An excellent companion to the War Party mini-series, and every series to come.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
WAR PARTY#5 TWO FRONTS
Two Fronts continues the story for mature readers based on Skinwalker mythology. In this issue, we learn more about other characters outside the War Party and see the courage that they had during such difficult times. The issue also ends with a great action scene.
DYANI’S WAR DIARY
The Diary shares Dyani’s thoughts during specific periods starting in the year 1100 to the year 3025. It’s fascinating to learn her perspective. It looks like each year something significant happens such as the year the War Party started. The interior is beautiful with the detailed art on the diary entries.
I would be interested in Dyani’s series telling the many stories that she knows. That series if done well can be as iconic as the “La Muerta series”. I’m already imagining story arcs that could be part of it but also many stand-alone issues focusing on a specific story each time.
THE CAMPAIGN
The aim of the crowdfunding campaign is for the creator to produce all 6 issues with a total of 160 pages over a specific timeline. In addition to the books, there are also other products added to the campaign. The delivery schedule was posted on the campaign detailing the timing of the delivery of the products however the delivery date on the campaign for the delivery of all 6 issues was not updated which may cause some confusion as not all issues are immediately available.
THE ROAD SO FAR…
Initially ordered the all-issues tier, the handbook, the slipcase, and the motion comic, and later added issue 0, Dyani’s War Diary, and the trading cards pack. At the time they also had variant covers and the Dyani action figure as supplementals.
Later they added issue 0 with various variant covers, Dyani’s War Diary, the trading cards’ pack, a Bestiary compendium, and an “everything War Party for life” tier which is a subscription for all War Party merchandise. The merchandise includes comics, compilations, cases, omnibuses, apparel, figures, posters, prints, cards, and motion comics from this and all future campaigns. I received issue numbers 1-3 first, then issue 0 and issue 4. My notes on them can be found in Eyes on War Party Part 1 and Eyes on War Party Part 2.
WAR PARTY PRODUCTS RECEIVED
During the last quarter of last year, I received an email with a tracking number but with no description of what was delivered. I contacted Justin to confirm what was being delivered and received immediate feedback. I had no issues receiving issue 5, Dyani’s War Diary, and the trading card pack containing 20 trading cards.
The 20 cards included the War Party members and all of Dyani’s looks through the years noted in her diary. The cards of the War Party members each have the details of the characters. The cards of Dyani have a short description of the time on the back. The cards came nicely packaged in three 8-pocket page protectors.
Overall, the management of the campaign itself has been very professional in providing periodical updates and follow-up on customers’ feedback and I don’t expect any issues with receiving the remaining packages in 2024 which will include the remaining issue #6, and the slipcase. The motion comic is pending to have a specific deadline.
FINAL THOUGHTS
War Party is an interesting and well-structured story aimed at a mature-minded audience. The creators have a timeline in mind for how far they could go with the series. The art is beautiful. As expected, issue #5 takes the story forward and even focuses on other supporting characters and Dyani’s War Dairy is a nice addition that gives an insight into Dyani’s experiences through several events that occurred during her long life.
As of date, the crowdfunding campaign for War Party is still active on Indiegogo. Issue 0 through Issue 5, the handbook, Dyani’s War Diary, and the trading cards pack are immediately ready for shipping. Looking forward to receiving Issue 6, and the slipcase in 2024. The new interesting additions to the campaign are the 1/12 scale James the Werewolf premium action figure limited to 10 items, and the Bestiary compendium that contains inside information on the Skinwalkers, Demons, and Spirit Animals in the War Party universe.
Interested in more titles? Check more COMIC BOOKS and GRAPHIC NOVELS under the “EYES ON” series wherein I documented my experience with crowdfunding entertainment and shared my notes on the products I received.
My notes are all set. Let me know what you think.
See you on the next page!
