Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast: Volume 1 (2018)
Authors: Llexi Leon (story) / Ian Edginton (script) | Artist: Kevin J West | Page Count: 128
'Eddie is an embodiment of free will, a chaotic spirit, the unseen catalyst during crucial turning points in history. The spark that lights the flame.'
LotB's story is based on a 'free to play' mobile phone game that I've not played. The structure of the first collected volume feels very much like a series of game levels stitched together, with little care put into smoothing over the level changes. It also lacks a decent introduction, as if we're missing a crucial cut-scene.
In the story, Eddie is freed from bondage by a floating lady in a flowing dress, the Clairvoyant, a self-proclaimed 'sightless seer in the realm of the senses'. It seems that sometime before that, however, Eddie's soul was ripped from his body by The Beast, looking like he did on Iron Maiden's classic Number of the Beast (1982) album.
The mascot's stolen soul somehow became a glowing red crystalline substance that was shattered into shards and distributed to a group of nefarious individuals. Eddie's quest, therefore, is to retrieve his lost soul by defeating the holders of the fragments.
