For a comic creator to take on the task of story creator, illustrator, letterer, and designer is a mighty task, and Jonathan Luna does just this with Image Comics' Quest #1. Luna and scriptwriter Crystal Wood team up to tell a fantasy epic about demons, romance, and an epic journey. In Quest, Princess Anya and Prince Devyan's arranged marriage is interrupted by a demonic attack, with the prince abducted in the chaos. While the royal families plan to save him, Anya will not waste time and sets off on a journey with her loyal warriors to save her stolen love.

Luna and Wood do not waste time with the action in Quest, quickly introducing the central conflict -- demons stealing the prince for mysterious reasons. While the action happens quickly, Luna and Wood do a solid job establishing the character dynamics in an organic way. For instance, Luna's art captures the genuine love between Anya and Devyan as well as the heartbreak Tor experiences witnessing the ceremony.

The character work Luna and Wood do in Quest successfully sets up the driving forces of the protagonists, especially Anya and Tor. In a short period, readers learn that Anya truly loves Devyan, has a warrior's heart and drive, and will not let anyone -- human or demon -- get in her way. Meanwhile, Tor is set up as a romantic rival who has strong feelings for Anya but is not the type of person to intervene in her relationship or try to sabotage it. This establishes an interesting dynamic between the two as they go on what's sure to be an epic journey.

The downside of Quest kicking off so hard is that the climactic action sequence ends relatively early. Therefore, the second half of Quest loses momentum. While readers do get more of Wood and Luna's great character work, these pages are a lot of talking, which is a drastic contrast from the beginning, as that was more about showing than telling. Along with that, these later panels can then feel overcrowded by the lettering and speech bubbles.

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Luna's art goes beyond just strong expressions that capture the true feelings of the characters. The demons have memorable designs and make an impressive entrance. Luna's creature designs reflect the world of Quest, as seen with their headpieces, architecture, and the royal families' jewels. This is just one of the several ways Luna's art fleshes out the world. While the designs and illustrations are strong, the colors leave readers wanting more. There is a stagnant, flat quality to the colors that clashes with the vibrant nature of the fantastic world.

Quest #1 is a must-read comic for high-fantasy fans. It delivers on a fleshed-out world readers will be excited to explore and characters who already endear themselves to fans. This first issue leaves readers hoping the series will continue with the same intriguing energy.