High fantasy is just one of those genres that leans heavily into its tropes. Fans know what to expect, and it's all about seeing how various storytellers use those tropes to tell something new and original. Band of the Black Fist more or less accomplishes this mission. It's not groundbreaking or extremely innovative. But it does take a number of fantasy staples and molds them just enough to give something entertaining.
The story takes place in a typical fantasy world with humans as well as goblins, elves, orcs, and the like. The plot picks up after the end of a war as various warriors try to find their place in peace. It focuses on a trio of characters as they are recruited to stop a devious enemy. It's a cliched premise that's made interesting by the quirks of its black characters. The issue also has a couple prose moments to break up the comic scenes, which work well as something traditionally seen in fantasy.
Although black and white, the art is still on point and works very well for the tone and setting of the story. If there's any critique of the first issue is that there just wasn't much there. It consisted mainly of three scenes, none of which really tell a complete story. I'm unsure if I read an ashcan issue or this was merely a sample, but I was hoping for a lot more meat to chew on as the comic was just getting going when it abruptly ended. But its briefness aside, there was a lot of potential to cheer about.