Zuda March: The Rise & Fall of the 3 Kingdoms

The historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, written in the 14th century, is known as one of the four greatest works in Chinese literature. This comic will follow the novel closely. The story follows the rise of the main character Liu Bei, who emerged from humble beginnings to become one of three powerful warlords who ruled and warred over China at the end of the Han dynasty. Liu Bei was aided by many loyal friends – fierce warriors such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, as well as his legendary advisor Zhuge Liang (some readers may be more familiar with these characters from the Dynasty Warriors video game series by KOEI, which is also based on the same novel). Liu Bei belonged to a minor branch of the ruling royal family, but he lost his father at a young age, and spent most of his early life making sandals for a living. When the “Yellow Turban Rebellion” began in 184 AD, Liu Bei led 300 volunteer soldiers from his village to aid the imperial army in repelling the rebels. During this time Liu Bei became good friends and close allies with two other officials of the Han army, Cao Cao and Sun Quan, who would later become his most vicious rivals. After the rebellion was successfully put down, Liu Bei was rewarded with an official government appointment. The authority of the Han dynasty was severely weakened by the rebellion, and many nobles soon decided to take advantage of the central government’s diminished status and began to carve out territories for themselves. This caused Liu Bei, who was fiercely loyal to the Han dynasty, to clash with many of his contemporaries, including his friends Cao Cao and Sun Quan. Although they had been close in their youth, events and personal ambitions eventually tore them apart. Between open warfare and secret, shifting allegiances, the three former friends would engage in a decades-long contest for ultimate supremacy over the empire.

History is of a great interest to me, and I would happily read this as a graphic novel or a monthly.
But..
This isn’t what I want to see as a Zuda winner – don’t get me wrong. The art is great and the story is well paced -it just seems out of place here.
3 Stars