Doom Breaker

Blue-Deep’s promising, action-packed debut collects a webtoon that holds its ground in the reincarnation and RPG-inspired fantasy genres. The tale opens with an ending: the world has been ravaged by demons and only warrior Zephyr remains standing. Instead of perishing, like the rest of humanity, after the God of Destruction Tartarus deals his last blow, Zephyr is transported to the realm of the Gods and offered a second chance at life (retaining his memories in classic portal-jumping isekai style). Despite the Gods’ admission that Zephyr has only been saved to play with for their amusement, he accepts the proposal of rebirth (and a chance at a rematch with the God of Destruction). He gets transported a decade back in time to when he was once enslaved as a miner—except now with all the breadth of knowledge and battle experience he’d gained in his life up to being saved-from-death. The Gods also provide him with the ability to unlock perks—newfound skills that amaze and frighten the people around him. Zephyr swears to defeat Tartarus, save humanity, and protect the woman he loves. Action is abundant, and the print layout’s two-page spreads arguably better capture the dynamic movement than the digital scroll of the webtoon. Both the exaggerated art style and calculating protagonist are reminiscent of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. While not groundbreaking, this has more than enough intrigue and battles to get fantasy fans’ blood pumping. (July)