Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast by Llexi Leon, Ian Edgington, Kevin West and more: a review

I picked up one part of this when they were coming out regularly, but there weren’t many places that I could get it, so I had to wait until the full collection was released. I wasn’t keeping tabs on it, but something made me think to check after Christmas, and bought it then.

            Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast by Llexi Leon, Ian Edgington, Kevin West (and more) follows Eddie, the mascot of British Heavy Metal band, Iron Maiden. His soul has been split by The Beast. With the help of The Clairvoyant, he sets off on his quest to retrieve his soul and save the universe. It spans time and space as it flows through Iron Maiden’s music. It’s also worth noting that the Legacy of the Beast title has taken many forms. It started life as a mobile game, became a comic, and Iron Maiden is touring under the Legacy of the Beast name. Marketing truly is a strongpoint of theirs.

            I should say that I am unashamedly a lifelong Iron Maiden fan, so I know that I am going into this with a certain bias. I feel like most people buying this share that. However, I’ll review this like anything else, no matter how I feel about it.

            The humour in this is absolutely fantastic. It genuinely made me laugh out loud in places. It was so much fun throughout. Both the text and art were really funny together.

            The artwork is truly stunning. The level of detail is unreal, and it gets rather visceral at times. I’ll definitely be checking out more work by the artists.

            I think because I did play the game, there’s something a little bit dissatisfying about how easily Eddie makes his way past all of the villains. I understand that he’s meant to be super powerful, but I’d like to see more of a fight, especially at the beginning where he hasn’t got any of his soul. I think maybe it would have worked better if his power progressively grew with each part of his soul being retrieved.

            I really enjoy how the song references are used. They actually fit what’s being said, rather than being shoehorned in. Iron Maiden fans can enjoy the references, but non-fans can still enjoy the comic without even noticing them. These references go deeper than the songs, too. On their 1982 album Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden released a song called The Prisoner. It’s based on the hit 1960s British TV show of the same name. The comic not only references the song, but delves deeper into references into the TV show. Everything is fit together perfectly.

            This was an absolute thrill to read. I recommend this to Iron Maiden fans and non-fans alike. The story 100% holds its own, and you don’t need to know a single thing about the band or their music. Though, if you are a fan there are certain extras that you get out of it. I’m really looking forward to the release of the second collection, and I feel like it might not be too far away. Hopefully it’ll be released around the time I see them later this year; I feel like that’ll tie things together.