A primal darkness returns everything to dust
...or worse
Blade Devil is an adult comic book series created by Sick Fox Studios that takes heavy inspiration from Japanese media such as anime, manga and JRPGs. The first book in the series was originally funded
on Indiegogo with over $300,000 and was finally shipped out to backers in mid 2022. Due to its amazing success an additional second chance campaign with new cover art variants was later released for folks who missed out on the first run.
The story focuses on a young female swordswoman with a mysterious past named Ashyara who spends her days wandering a dying world fighting various monsters and demons. Ashyara is blessed with a great demonic power in her body that gives her an edge in combat but is also a deadly curse that threatens her life and... perhaps... her very soul. Only one book in a planned ongoing series has been released so far (the 170 page Blade Devil: Ghosts of the Past) but several more are in the pipes if all goes well.
The Indiegogo first edition of the first issue is especially notable for having several unique special features available as backer rewards, including naughty NSFW alternative cover art, a monster girl bestiary, a fanart gallery, several bonus stories and even specially designed 3D mouse pads... among other things.
Following the massive success of the first book a second volume titled Blade Devil: Chains of Blood was announced and went live in late summer 2023. Expanding on the massive cliffhanger ending of the first entry into the series this new addition is set to continue the story of Ashyara and her group as they fight for their lives. Much like the first title there is also set to be a ton of enticing bonuses and special goodies for backers to collect, such as more exclusive cover variants, dakimakura body pillows and even special trading cards of the characters!
Not to be confused with Demon Blade.
Blade Devil contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Ashyara and many of the other females featured in the series can fight very well, both as warriors or magic users. In fact, quite possibly the most powerful character in the entire comic is a woman.
- Bathing Beauty: One of the very first images readers are graced with in chapter one is a full page spread of Ashyara enjoying a nice Waterfall Shower before heading into town. Later in that same chapter when the group of monsters attack she complains about getting dirty again so soon after having just washed off.
- Body Horror: There's actually quite a surprising amount of this depicted throughout the entire first issue, such as Ashyara revealing that she has a demonic parasite in her eye or what The Corruption does to all of the poor bastards it infects...
- Chainmail Bikini: This is Ashyara's default outfit. It's also a somewhat justified example since Ashyara has some very powerful demonic abilities, including a way to heal from otherwise lethal wounds and a way to form her own armor at the cost of a large amount of her mana, so she doesn't really need protection as much as the regular humans do.
- Cool Sword: Ashyara's main offensive weapon is the Rays of Dawn, a powerful transforming artifact that typically takes the form of her old sword from when she was a knight.
- Covers Always Lie: Two of the limited edition alt covers available for the original Indiegogo run of Blade Devil: Ghosts of the Past feature Ashyara being assaulted by tentacles in a scene that looks like it was ripped straight out of a hentai. Not only does the scene in question never happen in the story, the book itself is supposed to be a fairly serious tale of a demon possessed swordswoman fighting monsters. (Aside from some gratuitous nudity here and there you won't actually find much overt sexual content in this title.)
- Creepy Centipedes: Several different variants of monstrous centipedes seem to inhabit this world, from the giant elemental Aquapedes and Magmapedes to Ashyara's demonic symbiote Qajirok.
- Cute Monster Girl: One of the bonus features included for the Indiegogo backers is a bestiary featuring all of the various monsters that appeared in Blade Devil: Ghosts of the Past as sexy anthropomorphic monster women.
- Dirty Coward: The demonic entity that stalks Ashyara throughout the "Haunted" bonus story in Ghosts of the Past always keeps its distance while slowly weakening her from afar via constant hit and run attacks that keep her fatigued. She finally manages to put it down when she tricks it into believing it has her cornered and then launches her sword into it when the monster decides to go in for the killing blow.
- Fanservice In spades. RGE and the rest of the folks at Sick Fox Studios are unapologetically supporters of good old fashioned cheesecake in all its many forms. Notably, the comic makes it a point to avert both Nipple and Dimed and Barbie Doll Anatomy from the first to last pages without so much as a stream of steam to cover up any naughty bits. The only censorship you'll ever see for this series are a few images posted on Indiegogo.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Ashyara is not at all afraid to fight demons in the nude, especially when they wake her up from having a nice dream.
- Good Is Not Soft: Ashyara is normally very polite and friendly but she absolutely will not hesitate to put down any threat towards herself or someone that she cares about, be they human or demon.
- Gorn: Don't let the whimsical anime inspired art style fool you, Blade Devil is a comic that earns its status as an adults only book. You got disembowelments, decapitations, bisections, impalings, geysers of blood and that isn't even touching on the grim body horror that occurs at several parts of the story. This is definitely not a graphic novel for kids.
- Magic Knight: While a few dedicated spellcasters and warrior seem to inhabit this world most adventurers are shown to use a combination of traditional weapons and spellcasting to slay monsters. Ashyara herself is primarily a swordswoman with a few extra demonic magical powers to give her an edge in battle.
- Naked First Impression: Zara and Ninoa's first encounter with each other manages to involve full frontal nudity, impalement and an army of giant monsters that want to kill them both. Not really the best first impression they could've hoped to make for one another.
- Power at a Price: See Your Soul Is Mine! below. Ashyara gets some pretty nifty powers from her little demon buddy, but not without paying some pretty steep costs as well...
- R-Rated Opening: The very first few pages of Blade Devil: Ghosts of the Past features Ashyara graphically mercy killing a group of Body Horror afflicted bandits before going for a dip completely nude in a full page spread. The Indiegogo variant covers take this trope even further, with one design featuring a nude Ashyara struggling in a completely NSFW Naughty Tentacles situation. The scene depicted in said artwork never appears in the actual book at any point, it's just there for some easy titillation.
- Scary Scorpion: Among the monsters that attack the town in the first chapter is Scorpulon, a giant demonic scorpion that eats souls and may be a lot more intelligent than it initially lets on.
- Sexy Packaging: The infamous "tentacle porn" alternative cover artwork for the first run of Blade Devil: Ghosts of the Past which has absolutely nothing to do with the actual story. (It's an action/drama series about a woman with demonic powers fighting monsters.)
- Spoiler Cover: The standard variant covers for Blade Devil: Ghosts of the Past (both the original and second run) spoil Ashyara's armored Blade Devil form that appears during the last few pages of the main story.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: This is how Ashyara finally manages to kill the monster that was stalking her in the "Haunted" bonus chapter from the first book. When it goes for the finishing blow she nails it with her sword and takes it out in a single strike.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Ashyara's demonic symbiote Qajirok gives her amazing physical might, useful regenerative abilities and the power to transform into an even stronger armored form... but she also has to keep feeding him souls to satisfy his constant hunger. He tells her upfront that if she ever fails to give him enough food or dies in a fight he'll have no problem making a meal out of her.
