[Since jumping into comics crowdfunding in March, I’ve received 12 projects in paper form. Some have arrived digitally, but I’ll wait until the paper copies arrive because I’m that type of luddite. This “Year in Review” will catalog each one…and I promise to be done by New Year’s Eve!]
File this under: I have no idea why I backed it but am so glad I did.
Brent Peeples’ 20-page story (with 4-page cover wrap) is a total delight. It starts as a run of the mill pre-teen going off to school story and veers into something that felt like a cross between The Matrix and some dark fantasy tale. I won’t give the story away as it’s really that good, but suffice to say it’s worth buying.
Beyond the color cover, the interiors are black and white – with progressively more red as the story progresses. The red is there for a reason, folks, and it’s not because they’re drinking Kool-Aid. I enjoy the art – clean, kinda manga artwork with what appear to be grey watercolor washes for shading. And the two bad guys’ look is so reminiscent of classic Rob Liefeld art, too – those angular faces with sharp smiles.
The scripting is rock solid – just enough exposition, just enough plot movement, just enough characterization – until the last three pages. Really, pages 18-19, where you get The Huge Backstory Drop. I bet it was a tough call, whether to put it into the this issue or a later one, but we’re talking about crowdfunding…and that means you’re never guaranteed another bite of the apple. I can’t say as I blame Peeples for taking the approach that he did because he got to tell his story, but the book would have read so much better had those two pages chopped the backstory by 80-90 percent and then used the second issue to tell the tale at a more leisurely pace.
Now let’s get this clear: My gripe about the two pages of story in no way change my opinion that this is a very, very creative and well-told comic. I strongly endorse it. At the same time, a shift from “very good” to “GREAT” was possible.
There were other terrific books in my crowdfunding haul this year, but none so unexpectedly so. Well done, Brent!
~ Prior Entries ~
Day 2: Branches Entwined & Broken
Have you considered checking out my small press comics and stories?
Phoenix Productions 
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