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The Sword #3
The Sword, Vol. 3: Earth
His name is Knossos. With the power to manipulate earth, he is one of the most powerful beings alive. And he has only one weakness: The Sword. Helping to create it was his first mistake. Killing the mother of Dara Brighton, the Sword's current wielder, may be his last!
152 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 27, 2021
Alright. So the gist is that Dara is going through the immortal god siblings and killing them.
Earth deals with Knossos who has earth powers.
Also, he's the one who killed her mom, so there's that.
Knossos is the sibling who believes that his father is the Creator of the Universe and an all-powerful being that he has worshiped since his childhood.
Basically, this dude is the religious nut of the group.
I've said it before, but the art is just so super-duper generic. And without a stellar storyline to make up for the lack of visuals, this is starting to feel thin. I'm less and less interested in what's happening here as it seems to be your basic countdown to the final battle. Guess we'll see how it all ends up in the last (next) volume's conclusion.
Earth deals with Knossos who has earth powers.
Also, he's the one who killed her mom, so there's that.
Knossos is the sibling who believes that his father is the Creator of the Universe and an all-powerful being that he has worshiped since his childhood.
Basically, this dude is the religious nut of the group.
I've said it before, but the art is just so super-duper generic. And without a stellar storyline to make up for the lack of visuals, this is starting to feel thin. I'm less and less interested in what's happening here as it seems to be your basic countdown to the final battle. Guess we'll see how it all ends up in the last (next) volume's conclusion.
December 4, 2020
Outstanding, and left finely poised for an Epic Final Confrontation!
ADVISORY: This volume somehow manages to up the gore quotient on the previous, if that bothered you before maybe call it a day.
ADVISORY: This volume somehow manages to up the gore quotient on the previous, if that bothered you before maybe call it a day.
October 30, 2019
The scene with the jaw-ripping punch is going to stay with me a while. The action scenes don't hold back in this volume. There's barely a moment to catch your breath.
Dara finds Knossos easily enough. He is a drug lord and is extracting the drug ingredients from the ground by using his power over earth. Dara makes her move, but is shot by Knossos's guards and drops the sword.
Dara finds Knossos easily enough. He is a drug lord and is extracting the drug ingredients from the ground by using his power over earth. Dara makes her move, but is shot by Knossos's guards and drops the sword.
October 25, 2024
Not as good as the previous volume. The fights got dumber. How Dara drops the sword at the beginning when getting shot at, but then later blocks a hundred bullets in the same type of scenario, and then does not drop the grip on the sword when her arm is literally being pulled apart......this book is full of stupid little stuff like that. But other times it has some pretty clever writing. The art is passable as always, never great, never terrible, which is fitting for the writing. But somehow it keeps me involved enough to want to continue. Weird.
November 2, 2009
Dara Brighton goes after Knossos - one of the god-child siblings who murdered her family - in this collection of The Sword and ends him in an epic battle that literally tears her apart. With each devastating injury, however, Dara only seems to grow stronger. The sword heals her wounds, but she's also becoming tougher mentally. Flashbacks to her life before her family was taken from her show some of the journey she's taken to get to this new, stronger version of herself. But, wow...she has become such a revenge-focused badass. The Luna brothers don't pull any punches when it comes to showing Dara's physical sacrifices. The scene where she reattaches her jaw (torn off by Knossos) is pretty graphic. The artwork doesn't really overwhelm me - sometimes it's hard to distinguish between characters (because everyone looks similar) - but the storyline and fearless tenacity of Dara keep me coming back. This is my favorite of the collections so far.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2019
This volume was more of the same of what happened in the second book. Dara found Knossos, they fought, one died. But as I was suspecting at the end of book two, Malia revealed that she has a thing for humans. At the end of the book, something unexpected happens though and that makes this book a lot better than I thought at first.
Justin is becoming a really annoying character throughout the whole series, Julie however is the voice of reason. So a very cool dynamic in the trio although Justin doesn't really have any purpose anymore after he helped finding Knossos. I guess he just has to tag along now until the bitter end.
Now with the true motive of Malia in the picture, what's the big conclusion?
Justin is becoming a really annoying character throughout the whole series, Julie however is the voice of reason. So a very cool dynamic in the trio although Justin doesn't really have any purpose anymore after he helped finding Knossos. I guess he just has to tag along now until the bitter end.
Now with the true motive of Malia in the picture, what's the big conclusion?
December 21, 2017
Continuation of the same stellar story, with a (Dun! Dun! DUN!) twist at the end. I'm so excited to see what happens with Azula Malia
March 27, 2019
Well Dara is definitely out for blood.....
April 28, 2022
If nothing else the action and set pieces are amazing to read, like a harder edge avatar. Some stuff I skimmed but it was expected
September 13, 2024
The BIF! BAM! POW! Moves along quite well but the art is reeeaaalkkly not doing anything for me at all. I'm basically reading this series like a play
April 25, 2025
Omg !! She did loose the sword again 😆💀🫨
These are so bad 😂😂😂
I will actually be disappointed if the writer doesn’t copy this to the 4 and final volume🤞 😆
These are so bad 😂😂😂
I will actually be disappointed if the writer doesn’t copy this to the 4 and final volume🤞 😆
Read
May 7, 2026Volume 3 tells the story of Dara's fight against Knossos, controller of Earth. Dara tracks down Knossos in Mexico, where he has singlehandedly gained control of the meth trade. By some molecular process which I don't entirely understand, Knossos is able to use his abilities to churn out masses of high quality meth in minutes. He puts the crew from Breaking Bad to shame!
Battlewise: If you thought Zakros' ice fortress was epic, it's nothing compared to what Knossos pulls on Dara. He transforms into a goddamn 20 story tall man made of Earth! The sword makes short work of him, but that's not her only problem. Malia shows up toward the end of the battle, fully aware that the scene is being televised to the world. She capitalises on this opportunity, making herself seen as 'helping' Dara kill Knossos. She then literally flies away, landing in New York City and proclaiming that she's a beacon of light, and that she will protect the world from the evil that is Dara Brighton.
***
I felt that there wasn't as much gore in Volume Three, but there was still a major 'ick' moment that may have possibly scarred me for life: Dara literally gets her jaw punched off by Knossos, her severed jaw and tongue landing in the dirt. I'd assumed that the sword would cause her jaw to regenerate, no questions asked, but that's not the case. Dara literally has to pick her jaw up out of the dirt, reattach it to the gaping hole in her face, and wait for the sword to work its magic! I would love to see that scene adapted to the big screen, purely to see how many people puke in the cinema!
Just as in Volume Two, the battle scene with Knossos was epic. I thought Zakros' ice fortress was cool enough, but it's nothing to what Knossos pulls off: literally molding the dirt around him to transform into a giant moving 'mountain man'! Dara spends the novel fighting a creature so large and powerful that Godzilla would likely weep in terror. So.fucking.epic.
Action and severed jaws aside, let's get serious. I'm really beginning to dislike Dara, though I believe that's intentional on the part of the authors. Dara began her journey relatively untainted, clumsily using the sword in self-defence. I appreciated that she wanted revenge for her family, but was still human and firmly grounded in reality. Now she's becoming more and more like The Bride in Kill Bill, a cold-blooded killing machine on a mission. And it's not just the reader feeling this - Dara's best friend is calling her out on it too.
I'm really interested to see what happens to Dara at the end of the series. It's unlikely that she could go back to a normal life after battling demigods on worldwide television, and from what we've seen of the sword's healing capabilities, they start to wear off over time. I figure that Dara is a) going to complete her mission of revenge, and plunge the sword into her own chest, b) her and Malia will die simultaneously, or c) she'll go off the grid somewhere, living alone and eventually losing the ability to use her legs again.
I also enjoyed the insight we got into Malia's backstory this time round. We found out that she was carrying out a secret love affair with Demetrios, and that he had promised that they would be together, only to leave her for decades and run off with a human woman. We also learned that Malia is clearly the more intellectual of the three siblings, as she exercises strategy in turning the public against Dara. Instead of each volume dealing individually with each sibling, Malia played a major role in how Knossos' tale unfolded, and foreshadowed what would happen in the next chapter.
Overall: Yep, still loving this series. Can't say much more than that! The gore is still shocking, the action scenes still mindblowing, and the backstory and mythology still fascinating. I'll be sad to see it all come to an end with the next trade paperback - though I'll have the Luna Brothers' other works to tide me over!
Battlewise: If you thought Zakros' ice fortress was epic, it's nothing compared to what Knossos pulls on Dara. He transforms into a goddamn 20 story tall man made of Earth! The sword makes short work of him, but that's not her only problem. Malia shows up toward the end of the battle, fully aware that the scene is being televised to the world. She capitalises on this opportunity, making herself seen as 'helping' Dara kill Knossos. She then literally flies away, landing in New York City and proclaiming that she's a beacon of light, and that she will protect the world from the evil that is Dara Brighton.
***
I felt that there wasn't as much gore in Volume Three, but there was still a major 'ick' moment that may have possibly scarred me for life: Dara literally gets her jaw punched off by Knossos, her severed jaw and tongue landing in the dirt. I'd assumed that the sword would cause her jaw to regenerate, no questions asked, but that's not the case. Dara literally has to pick her jaw up out of the dirt, reattach it to the gaping hole in her face, and wait for the sword to work its magic! I would love to see that scene adapted to the big screen, purely to see how many people puke in the cinema!
Just as in Volume Two, the battle scene with Knossos was epic. I thought Zakros' ice fortress was cool enough, but it's nothing to what Knossos pulls off: literally molding the dirt around him to transform into a giant moving 'mountain man'! Dara spends the novel fighting a creature so large and powerful that Godzilla would likely weep in terror. So.fucking.epic.
Action and severed jaws aside, let's get serious. I'm really beginning to dislike Dara, though I believe that's intentional on the part of the authors. Dara began her journey relatively untainted, clumsily using the sword in self-defence. I appreciated that she wanted revenge for her family, but was still human and firmly grounded in reality. Now she's becoming more and more like The Bride in Kill Bill, a cold-blooded killing machine on a mission. And it's not just the reader feeling this - Dara's best friend is calling her out on it too.
I'm really interested to see what happens to Dara at the end of the series. It's unlikely that she could go back to a normal life after battling demigods on worldwide television, and from what we've seen of the sword's healing capabilities, they start to wear off over time. I figure that Dara is a) going to complete her mission of revenge, and plunge the sword into her own chest, b) her and Malia will die simultaneously, or c) she'll go off the grid somewhere, living alone and eventually losing the ability to use her legs again.
I also enjoyed the insight we got into Malia's backstory this time round. We found out that she was carrying out a secret love affair with Demetrios, and that he had promised that they would be together, only to leave her for decades and run off with a human woman. We also learned that Malia is clearly the more intellectual of the three siblings, as she exercises strategy in turning the public against Dara. Instead of each volume dealing individually with each sibling, Malia played a major role in how Knossos' tale unfolded, and foreshadowed what would happen in the next chapter.
Overall: Yep, still loving this series. Can't say much more than that! The gore is still shocking, the action scenes still mindblowing, and the backstory and mythology still fascinating. I'll be sad to see it all come to an end with the next trade paperback - though I'll have the Luna Brothers' other works to tide me over!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2010
Two stars for The Sword by the Luna brothers. The cover art is a good indication of what you can expect inside, which is to say, a little plain, so I expect those who read this aren't interested in the art.
As for the story, that's a little minimal too. There's a pat formula for each volume, and I don't think it's busting any big mysteries if I say that the protagonist Dara Brighton garners motivation for fighting the big bads from noble family flashbacks better ("Don't give up, Dara!") I suppose I've been spoiled for fight scenes by Hollywood and animation, but those were all right if I ignored the fact I knew the outcome-- if I didn't, the titles of the next volumes are a nice giveaway.
The villains' brief discussions on power were a little interesting. I could see some correlations to government and so on, but I was doing most of the developing on my own, LOL. These characters weren't very complex despite interesting histories.
In short, this is a little tough to recommend. It would probably be appropriate for teens. That the heroine's physically impaired, and the flashbacks tend to center on her overcoming her disability, as the fight scenes with the baddies do not --she's able to walk again with the nameless sword (whose history is likewise minimally developed even though it's the main character in the series). Unfortunately, there's a good deal of semi-graphic violence, so it's hard to recommend to younger audiences. Me, I won't be reading the next book.
As for the story, that's a little minimal too. There's a pat formula for each volume, and I don't think it's busting any big mysteries if I say that the protagonist Dara Brighton garners motivation for fighting the big bads from noble family flashbacks better ("Don't give up, Dara!") I suppose I've been spoiled for fight scenes by Hollywood and animation, but those were all right if I ignored the fact I knew the outcome-- if I didn't, the titles of the next volumes are a nice giveaway.
The villains' brief discussions on power were a little interesting. I could see some correlations to government and so on, but I was doing most of the developing on my own, LOL. These characters weren't very complex despite interesting histories.
In short, this is a little tough to recommend. It would probably be appropriate for teens. That the heroine's physically impaired, and the flashbacks tend to center on her overcoming her disability, as the fight scenes with the baddies do not --she's able to walk again with the nameless sword (whose history is likewise minimally developed even though it's the main character in the series). Unfortunately, there's a good deal of semi-graphic violence, so it's hard to recommend to younger audiences. Me, I won't be reading the next book.
October 1, 2015
Dara Brighton's revenge continues as she hunts down the second brother, Knossos, to his meth-crafting lair in Mexico. It's another round of over-the-top violence mixed in with some back story on both Dara and the trio of siblings who killed her family. While the action vacillates between exciting and preposterous, the background stories give enough depth to the story to keep a reader engaged. Also, TV news coverage of events becomes more relevant in this issue, hinting at an apocalyptic outcome for the story in the next volume.
I found the violence a bit too ridiculous in this issue. The sword keeps Dara from dying no matter what happens to her, even when someone punches her jaw off. She just pops it back on and gets madder about things. Taking the story serious is very hard after something like that. The end brings a twist that makes it seem like the next issue won't be just another run of crazy violence, so I will finish the series off.
I found the violence a bit too ridiculous in this issue. The sword keeps Dara from dying no matter what happens to her, even when someone punches her jaw off. She just pops it back on and gets madder about things. Taking the story serious is very hard after something like that. The end brings a twist that makes it seem like the next issue won't be just another run of crazy violence, so I will finish the series off.
July 23, 2013
Ok, blame it on my drug/chemical knowledge from "Breaking Bad", but the idea that (even a god) could go in the basement and pull meth out of the dirt is ridiculous. I like that he had a job and a criminal empire, but... yeah. I think this was written before that was on the air, and admittedly the chemicals are all pretty much available at a hardware store, but it's not something naturally occurring that a little pressure can concoct. It can't be pulled out of the soil in Mexico.
He'd be better off making diamonds or other precious jewels.
(It's called 'suspension of disbelief', I know, but you can't throw science into a magic setting like that without some explanation.)
I don't believe the alchemy here. It's not the middle ages.
Yeah, I grump, but this one was pretty ok, and it sets up the next one pretty good.
He'd be better off making diamonds or other precious jewels.
(It's called 'suspension of disbelief', I know, but you can't throw science into a magic setting like that without some explanation.)
I don't believe the alchemy here. It's not the middle ages.
Yeah, I grump, but this one was pretty ok, and it sets up the next one pretty good.
January 1, 2016
This book contains specific and interesting details on the intertwining comic better known as The Sword. The sword contains interesting details because it attracts the readers minds and helps you draw questions. While reading this book you get a sense of adventure and knowledge on things like the swords power and how to wield it. This book inspires people with revenge and excites the reader to want to read more. There are more comics pertaining to The Sword.
In this book it describes how Sara wants to get revenge on Zakros for killing her family. She travels to the Bahamas to seek her mother's killer. She prevails in the end with help from zakros's sister. Whom which Sara wants to kill.
In this book it describes how Sara wants to get revenge on Zakros for killing her family. She travels to the Bahamas to seek her mother's killer. She prevails in the end with help from zakros's sister. Whom which Sara wants to kill.
July 18, 2014
At this point, I think it's time to start considering this series an underrated gem. I've enjoyed this story so far, and this third volume has really hit its overall stride. What's great about this one is the amount of pure action there is seemingly from start to finish, and how, if I weren't reading through this series knowing there was a fourth volume, there's a lot of that expectation of danger that things might not go our avenging hero's way.
I love this series. I might need to rush reading the final volume early because I'm enjoying it so much. At this point, this is very highly recommended.
I love this series. I might need to rush reading the final volume early because I'm enjoying it so much. At this point, this is very highly recommended.
March 9, 2013
Dara tracks Knossos, the earth brother, to Mexico where he has set him self up as a drug kingpin, using his powers to mass-produce flawless crystal meth. She loses the sword (again), regains the sword, tastes sweet sweet revenge.
Just like the last book. So-so art, non-stop action, some well-placed flashbacks by both the good guys and the bad, and some neat earth-magic. On to volume 4.
Just like the last book. So-so art, non-stop action, some well-placed flashbacks by both the good guys and the bad, and some neat earth-magic. On to volume 4.
October 16, 2016
A drastic improvement from volume 2, Earth builds upon Dara's quest by simultaneously expanding the narratives surrounding two of her father's killers, Knossos and Malia and the mythology encompassing them. This development redeems the faults of the previous volume by making the narrative more compelling and by also investigating the role media shapes perceptions. Although the media plays a role in the entire series, it is within this volume's climax that we witness the Luna Brothers take on cults of personality.
October 31, 2009
The Luna bros. latest collected effort continues to thrill and impress with engaging characters, both pro- and antagonist, blistering action, and touching drama. Not for the faint of heart, the cruelties the Lunas put their characters through are not kiddie fare by any stretch. Dara Brighton's quest for vengeance reaches a breakneck pace in this third installment, and when the dust clears, the stage is set for an even more dramatic finale. I, for one, can't wait!
February 26, 2016
This comic book series is very interesting. In tail it talks about the trials and tribulations of a girl that was caught in trap. She faces People that have god like ability such as in this one. She fights a person named Knossos. He has the ability to control and manipulate earth.He is the sibling of 2 others that are like him.This book is very good for adventure. It's a great book you should read it you will have a fun time.
November 24, 2015
Bits of potential creep through. But mostly it's just a lot of slice and dice. With good enough art and basically okay writing. But if it just stayed with Dara and Malia's lives it would have been better. Knossos' criminal empire was interesting but his fighting style was not.
December 20, 2009
Consistently good; just wish it was better.
May 21, 2010
An excellent continuation of the series, with a solid mix of characterization and action. The Sword doesn't quite reach greatness, but it is an enjoyable read.
January 13, 2011
Things get more tense between Julie, Dara, and the general public. Some badass battle scenes ensue as well.
January 22, 2011
My least favorite of the four.
February 13, 2011
Classic Luna bros. Great art, great story
September 7, 2011
This one was a bit unnecessarily graphic...
November 19, 2011
Dara is back in another exciting installment of The Sword. Number 3 is an improvement over the rather lackluster #2.
February 21, 2012
Just keeps the action going, but with a twist!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews