What do you think?
Rate this book
By The Horns #1-8
By The Horns, Vol. 1: The Wind Rises
BY THE HORNS is an epic, sci-fi fantasy comic book series set in a dangerous world of magic and technology written by Markisan Naso, illustrated by Jason Muhr and colored by Andrei Tabacaru, published monthly by Scout Comics.
Elodie hates unicorns. For nearly a year, she's dedicated her life to killing them all for trampling her husband. Exiled from her village home for selfishly neglecting her duties, Elodie and her companion, Sajen, search the continent of Solothus to exact bloody revenge. But to make unicorns extinct she’ll need to fake an alliance with Zoso and Rigby, two of the very beasts she hates most, and battle four wind sorcerers who are extracting magic from all the mystical creatures on the continent. With the ability to rip off the unicorn horns and combine them to form wizard-slaying weapons, Elodie has a fighting chance. But will she decide to use those gifts to save magic in the world? Or destroy all the unicorns left alive?
Elodie hates unicorns. For nearly a year, she's dedicated her life to killing them all for trampling her husband. Exiled from her village home for selfishly neglecting her duties, Elodie and her companion, Sajen, search the continent of Solothus to exact bloody revenge. But to make unicorns extinct she’ll need to fake an alliance with Zoso and Rigby, two of the very beasts she hates most, and battle four wind sorcerers who are extracting magic from all the mystical creatures on the continent. With the ability to rip off the unicorn horns and combine them to form wizard-slaying weapons, Elodie has a fighting chance. But will she decide to use those gifts to save magic in the world? Or destroy all the unicorns left alive?
197 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2022
5 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 27, 2022
Just a girl who wants to kill unicorns.
A herd of unicorns trampled Elodie's husband and now she's on a mission to wipe them all off the face of the earth.
That may be a somewhat slight overreaction her part.
Armed with righteous anger and some swords she sets out every day with her big-ass telepathic fox/deer to kill some monsters.
Unfortunately, the people in her village are over her little obsession, mainly because she's no longer pulling her weight around the town. They toss her out on her ass and tell her she's banned for a year.
Go hunt unicorns elsewhere, we're not feeding you anymore.
Fair.
This happens in the first few pages, and the rest of the comic is filled up with questing, ass-kicking, and a team-up that teaches her that not all unicorns are evil.
OR ARE THEY?!
Nah. I'm just kidding. They're fucking unicorns.
Jesus. Get a hold of yourself.
Recommended for fans of fantasy.
A herd of unicorns trampled Elodie's husband and now she's on a mission to wipe them all off the face of the earth.
That may be a somewhat slight overreaction her part.
Armed with righteous anger and some swords she sets out every day with her big-ass telepathic fox/deer to kill some monsters.
Unfortunately, the people in her village are over her little obsession, mainly because she's no longer pulling her weight around the town. They toss her out on her ass and tell her she's banned for a year.
Go hunt unicorns elsewhere, we're not feeding you anymore.
Fair.
This happens in the first few pages, and the rest of the comic is filled up with questing, ass-kicking, and a team-up that teaches her that not all unicorns are evil.
OR ARE THEY?!
Nah. I'm just kidding. They're fucking unicorns.
Jesus. Get a hold of yourself.
Recommended for fans of fantasy.
June 4, 2022
I thought this was terrific. It's about a female fighter and her half-fox, half-gazelle companion. Elodie's husband was trampled by unicorns and now she wants vengeance, hunting the continent for them in this mash-up world of fantasy and technology. When she helps a town defeat an evil sorcerer, she teams up with a giant flying eyeball and two unicorns to hunt down the other three sorcerers threatening her world.
This has got the whole package. Action, humor, emotion, twists, great art. You name it. Jason Muhr's art is nice and clean, especially for a little known artist.
Naso and Muhr also created Voracious a few years ago. It's another ridiculously good comic about a chef who finds a time machine and uses it to bring dinosaur meat home for his restaurant. Yes, it's an insane plot that gets even crazier, but it really works. You should check it out too.
This has got the whole package. Action, humor, emotion, twists, great art. You name it. Jason Muhr's art is nice and clean, especially for a little known artist.
Naso and Muhr also created Voracious a few years ago. It's another ridiculously good comic about a chef who finds a time machine and uses it to bring dinosaur meat home for his restaurant. Yes, it's an insane plot that gets even crazier, but it really works. You should check it out too.
November 17, 2021
3.5 stars. Since they stopped putting these singles on here, I’ll just review all that I’ve read here. So I’ve read up to issue 7. Elodie, our main character, believes her husband was killed by being trampled by unicorns. She has now vowed to track down all the unicorns and kill them. Along her journey she has gathered up a rag tag bunch of characters. Some kind of half gazelle half wolf? A floating eyeball and an actual unicorn. Huh? Go figure. Elodie also learns the true fate of her husband and also learns of some evil wizards that have been sucking up magic wherever they can find it. Somewhere along the way, Elodie and her crew find themselves going around taking these guys out. The story this far has been solid and the artwork has been absolutely stunning. Been having some fun with this so far.
April 12, 2022
I really enjoyed this. The story is great, good use of tropes, some twisty-turny stuff, lots of action, likeable, three dimensional characters, groovy world, and oh my gravy such gorgeous art! I appreciate the different colored and lettered speech bubbles a lot; that detail added a sense of, I don't know, uniqueness I suppose, to each character, it made it easy to tell who's talking and gave me an idea how they sound, if you feel me. The story follows an established reluctant hero/antihero path, but it's done so well and with enough little surprises that I'm cool with being able to see more or less how things are gonna go, "this will go well/totally be awful" sort-of thing, y'know? There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek fun to be had to keep things light, mixed with some harsher moments to tug at the feels. The pace stays steady, nothing feels rushed, and the story and art are like *chef's kiss* together. Just a really good experience!
December 19, 2023
One of the best fantasy comics I've ever read. Incredibly engaging and fun with a very unique concept, original and relatable characters you'll care about, and interesting environments and creatures. The art and the action is excellent and there's so much heart in this book. But what I really love about it is the way the story is layered. It can be enjoyed as a kinetic fantasy/action book, but it's also a very potent tale about the character, Elodie, who chooses to deal with loss and anger in a headstrong, proactive way. She thinks her careless actions will ease her suffering and she doesn't really think about how destructive her choices are to the people (or in this case creatures) around her. It's really well done because it evolves in a natural way as she makes her way across the continent. And that 6th issue... wow.
One last note: The creatures designs in this are especially amazing. The book has lots of weird beasts that the characters fight, but there are also these travel maps that show where the characters have been and where they are going. They feature the dangers they encounter along the way with descriptions on how to deal with the threats. Like a combat journal. That really helps to immerse you in the world. I can't remember a comic where this many creatures with descriptions about them have been created. And a lot of these beasts just appear on the maps! The extra time spent on those kinds of details is very impressive. Even the logo on the cover changes each month, showing two different beasts squaring off. It's very clear these creators care about this series and go the extra mile in a way you don't get with 99% of comics.
One last note: The creatures designs in this are especially amazing. The book has lots of weird beasts that the characters fight, but there are also these travel maps that show where the characters have been and where they are going. They feature the dangers they encounter along the way with descriptions on how to deal with the threats. Like a combat journal. That really helps to immerse you in the world. I can't remember a comic where this many creatures with descriptions about them have been created. And a lot of these beasts just appear on the maps! The extra time spent on those kinds of details is very impressive. Even the logo on the cover changes each month, showing two different beasts squaring off. It's very clear these creators care about this series and go the extra mile in a way you don't get with 99% of comics.
June 10, 2022
Loads of fun! Cute colorful fantasy with a bad-ass woman on a mission to kill all monsters, especially Unicorns!
Fun fact: Unicorn horns are detachable and can be used as a magic wand. When the magic runs out, just pop it back on the unicorn to get it recharged! Not sure, but attaching it to a different Unicorn might void your warranty. Try that at your own risk.
I look forward to volume 2.
Fun fact: Unicorn horns are detachable and can be used as a magic wand. When the magic runs out, just pop it back on the unicorn to get it recharged! Not sure, but attaching it to a different Unicorn might void your warranty. Try that at your own risk.
I look forward to volume 2.
August 11, 2023
I was debating whether to go this high for the rating. And, in the end the few things that make this not a standard fantasy story won out. Keep in mind, I do think this series has some flaws, but I'm willing to invest in volume two (I back volume one and the first part of two on Kickstarter).
The concept really caught my attention. Instead, of nice cuddly unicorns, Elodie, our heroine (with perhaps the second worst fantasy attire next to Red Sonja-I mean it looks like thigh high stockings not boots) is out to kill as many unicorns as she can, blaming them for her husband's coma.
Her single mindedness leads to her being expelled from her village for one year. Of course she meets two unicorns, and you know what?
We get some character growth, and not all at once.
Some typical evil wizards, saving the world stuff but pretty well executed to go with one question at the very least.
Why does a fantasy setting include guns? Are we dealing with a failed technological world that retains some remnants from those times?
The concept really caught my attention. Instead, of nice cuddly unicorns, Elodie, our heroine (with perhaps the second worst fantasy attire next to Red Sonja-I mean it looks like thigh high stockings not boots) is out to kill as many unicorns as she can, blaming them for her husband's coma.
Her single mindedness leads to her being expelled from her village for one year. Of course she meets two unicorns, and you know what?
We get some character growth, and not all at once.
Some typical evil wizards, saving the world stuff but pretty well executed to go with one question at the very least.
Why does a fantasy setting include guns? Are we dealing with a failed technological world that retains some remnants from those times?
December 19, 2023
There's a Wolf Pony. That's all that needs to be said. Well...the story and art are rad af too. But read it for the Wolf Pony.
July 23, 2024
Wow! I love it when I find stories like this on Kickstarter or elsewhere! I feel really spoiled and lucky because I am finding stories that I am looking for and speak to me! This story is my perfect dream setup! It has everything I always wanted in a story of this caliber! The characters, the plot, the art... *chef's kiss*! They are absolutely amazing and fantastic! This has definitely become one of my all-time new favorites! Consider me obsessed! I hope to get the next volume soon so that I find out what happens next!
August 17, 2022
By the Horns is a hack and slash that takes place in a magical universe. I felt some really nice immersion and it was engaging to see how the world revealed itself over time (diverse settings, the different races and technology). I liked how the chapter intros covered the different creature threats in the region. There is also a nice narrative voice that is informal and humorous. One thing that I didn't love about By the Horns was the shift in page flow in a couple of the action scenes. Sometimes it spans the pages and in one scene it went vertical which interrupted the immersion. Not a huge deal but something I would have liked to have been more consistent. Overall, I recommend the book and personally I am looking forward to future volumes in the story.
December 15, 2023
I need to give the author a credit for very intriguing storyline but what absolutely ruined it for me is the fact how unoriginal are the creatures and other characters.
As a loyal gamer and fan of old movies all i saw is mash-up of Worlds of Warcraft meets Stranger Things meets Star Wars meets Subnautica and Stellaris and there are so many other titles.
I feel like it’s quite a shame.
January 26, 2023
3.5 stars
September 11, 2022
As Britney Spears would say "Gimme, gimme (more)
Gimme (more)".
Gimme (more)".
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews