Magnus Reviews...Burden and Pray #1 by Phausto and Noxphire (Patreon)

Love can be a dangerous and multi-faceted emotion...and it is none so more demonstrated then in Phausto and Noxphire's first original comic together, Burden & Prayer. Within the pages they have released of the first issue thus far we are seeing that love, and the many different shapes and forms it can take, will be the central theme of what will surely be quite a steamy comic.

To set the scene Burden and Prayer #1 follows a young man, Alan Gray, a rich nobleman from an esteemed family, as he enters Wenlock Abbey with the intention of taking the vows to become a brother among the abbey's order of monks, under the stern and watchful eye of the order's leader, Brother Marcus. Swiftly though we find hints that Alan's intentions at the abbey are not driven by a religious calling and that he might bring in a danger to the men of the abbey that strikes right to their hearts - temptation.

Burden and Prayer appears to be setting itself up for a more story driven narrative compared to Phausto and Noxphire's previous works. That is not to say that their works like Batboys, Superboy, etc. didn't have plot but they were more focused around the hooking up/relationships of the characters within the stories (and which there is nothing wrong with that, far from it). This tale however is setting up depths of mystery and intrigue that the other works didn't have and the teaser summary of the first issue hints that there will be plenty of tension and drama to come alongside the sex scenes (which being from Phausto I am sure will be hot and raunchy. All those poor repressed men will surely have a lot to give).

Speaking of which the setting being within an abbey and the religious theming might be off-putting to some readers due to their personal preferences or experiences and that is quite understandable. This is also a story I suspect will require some investment to follow rather then giving instant gratification. I would recommend giving the comic a good chance as these points shouldn't be deal breakers and the quality of Phausto and Noxphire's previous works are a good indication they know what they are doing here.

The small number of pages we have so far have only given us really a taster and a lot of promise on what is to come and there will likely be surprises and twists that will take the story in directions yet unknown. From what I have seen though I think Burden and Prayer could end up being a hit among the gay erotic comics scene in 2023. I suppose all we can do is watch this space and wait to see what Phausto and Noxphire have up their sleeves...

You can read Burden and Prayer #1 and see Phausto's other works on his Patreon and Gumroad:

https://www.patreon.com/Phausto

https://phausto.gumroad.com/

You can follow Phausto and Noxphire over on their social media sites:

Phausto - https://twitter.com/PhaustoK

Noxphire - https://www.instagram.com/noxphire/