I’m working on the new Women Warriors illustration for this week, and I wanted to do something different.
Instead of ink drawings, I wanted to work in pencil. And I like it! Let me know what you think in comments.
I won’t lie, though, I’m mostly doing pencil because my pens are dying out. You can’t deny that the pencil sketch looks pretty cool despite that!
Maybe I should do a whole comic in this art style…
Rise of the Magi #0 by Marc Silvestri, Sumeyye Kesgin, and Jasen Smith is a comic book made available for Free Comic Book Day from Image and Top Cow Productions, Inc. Before I get into my deeply divided thoughts on this book, I’ll tell you the basic premise.
Before I do, though, it must be noted that the cover of the book has nothing to do with the interior story. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Asa is a young man in…a fantasy world somewhere?…who longs to do something meaningful with his life besides being a carpet repair boy. His father, of course, berates him for being a dreamer instead of being practical, even going so far as to tell him to stop reading comic books because it’s “a waste of time!”
So one day Asa decides to get on the magic carpet of one his father’s clients and fly over to this palace of Spell Guards, where his brother works as a guard. Guess what Asa wants to be instead of a carpet repair boy? If you guessed a Spell Guard, congrats! You get 50 useless internet points.
Using an invisibility spell, Asa sneaks in and discovers that this magical orb of…magic, is in peril, because the guards guarding it are now ex-guards. That’s right, they’re either dead or dying, and Asa’s brother tells him to get out before the bad guys find him.
Ok, how do I sort out my feelings towards this book?
It’s not…BAD. But it’s not fantastic, either. Then again, I’m not the target audience for this book.
Here’s the deceptive thing – you would NEVER guess the story is about a young boy named Asa and a magical world by looking at the cover of this book. Who thought this cover was a good idea? It tells nothing of the story inside. The character on the cover isn’t even anywhere else in the book! This would be a great poster, but don’t put it on a comic book unless you’re making a story about wizards who use spray painting for spells or something. I was expecting that! And that’s not what I got.
Instead, what I got was an alright but worn-out story about a “misfit” boy who wants something greater and gets more than he expected in the realm of magic and shenanigans. Also, a parent who berates his son about reading comic books? I feel like that’s the clichè-est of clichè’s to ever clichè.
Ok, so I’ve said all the things I DON’T like about this. What do I like about it?
Well the art is solid. Once you get past that the interior art does not match the cover art (seriously, whoever made that executive decision needs slapped), the art inside the book is serviceable. Dare I say, it’s even good. The colors really pop and all the characters have unique designs. The layouts of the pages are even fun, but not complex enough to lose the reader. I really appreciate how easily readable this comic is, once I got past the story.
(I should note though, that I should NEVER have to say something like that. The story needs to be compelling at all times).
I would recommend this for any reader younger than 13 or 14. This book is really more for them than it is for me.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to write a comic about wizards who use spray paint magic…
Grease Monkey by Tim Eldred is a young adult graphic novel published by Tor Books. It’s been out for a while, so I’m sure there are other reviews of this out there. I just wanted to add my two cents for new readers who may have never heard of this comic book before.
The story is set in the near-ish future. It follows a young man named Robin Plotnik, as he goes onboard a starship in space to be a mechanic. But the surprise? His boss is actually a gorilla! Mac, his boss, is part of a race of gorillas whose intelligence had been accelerated to help the human race. That’s a good thing, because nearly 3/4 of the human population had been killed in a surprise alien attack. The starship Robin and Mac work on is actually a battle ship preparing for war, in case the aliens strike back.
If you’re expecting a lot of action…don’t. This story has occasional action sequences, mostly in the training exercises between the fighter pilot squadrons. But this story is more slice-of-life, following the day-to-day adventures of Robin as he grows up far away from home.
With that said, this is still an enjoyable read. I really grew to love the characters – the female fighter pilots of Barbarian squadron, the gorilla janitor who knows all the ship’s secrets, the commander of the ship; everyone is fun to read about and they’re very well-rounded. You can see their excitement, their anger, their frustration at bureaucratic rules enforced on them on the ship, the ways they blow off steam.
What surprises me is how well the artist handles difficult subjects like race. As the book progresses, you can see how relations between humans and gorillas can get intense, but not so intense that you stop reading the book. The artist handles the subject in sometimes off-handed ways, like when Robin talks to Mac about historical figures in the gorilla community. That’s pretty masterful.
So Tim’s writing is great, but his art is stellar. I love the character designs, especially Mac’s because he has a shirt that just says NO CRAP, which is a perfect reflection of his personality. Tim also draws amazing space ships – in between chapters he actually has really cool diagrams breaking down the ships and their component parts. And even though you expect a carrier space ship to be really minimalist and boring, Tim’s is wonderfully drawn, with high arches, a casino, a theater, and even growing trees and bushes. The environments are drawn so well that you just get absorbed into the book.
If I had to complain about anything, it’s the fact that I want more! The artist, Tim Eldred, is working on a sequel last time I checked, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I hope it comes out soon, though: I read about the history of the book, and how it had gone from publisher to publisher before FINALLY being published in its current form. Let’s hope for the best!
I highly recommend this book, especially if you’re a fan of young adult sci-fi comics. Get Grease Monkey on Amazon and give it a try!
P.S. Yes, the link above is an Amazon Affiliate link. If you clink that link and buy the book, I get a portion of the sale, and that’ll help pay for keeping this blog running. However, I’m only going to offer Amazon purchases for books that I like. I won’t sell you a book if I don’t like it. Fair enough?
I didn’t update yesterday because I was out all day for Free Comic Book Day. Now I can tell you how it went!
The Apache Junction Public Library was not only in a cool building, but the staff was nice and very helpful. We got set up without too much trouble and then I gave two presentations. Everyone who came was AWESOME.
I wish I took more pictures, but I got this one for posterity:
Afterwards I hung out with some of the kids who went to my presentation. They were nice enough to teach me how to play Magic: The Gathering, which is fantastic! They taught me way better than the last person who tried to, because the last person who tried to was a college-age boy who was super baffled that a girl wanted to learn how to play a card game.
At least the boys at the library were nice enough to gift me a card deck. How cool is that?!
Anyway, now that the event’s over, I have some new merch to post up at my store. Expect to see new things coming up over this next week!
Thanks to Free Comic Book Day, publishers contacting me, and the awesomeness of public libraries, I now have an abundance of comics to read and review.
Since I have so many comics to read through, every day for the month of May, here on the blog, will be book reviews. You’ll still get updates on art and any future guest appearances! But be prepared for BOOKS. BOOKS EVERYWHERE.
Thanks for reading! Here’s a sneak peek at some comics I’ll be reviewing this week:
Oh my gosh I’ve been busy getting everything ready for tomorrow, but now I’m ready!
Because tomorrow, at 1:30 pm, I’ll be at the Apache Junction Public Library!
I’ll be there demonstrating my art-making process, answering questions, and selling prints and bookmarks like these ones:
If you can’t make it tomorrow, don’t fret!
May 3rd only, every purchase made at my store will get a FREE mini-comic!
Also, I recently started working with Rocket Blast Comics. If you like their Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter, you can get a free copy of their comic PrideLands. Free comics for everyone!
Most importantly, if you can, go to your local comic shop and get free comics there. Here’s a link to a comic shop locator to help you find participating stores. Your local comic shop is still a great place to find new comics, plus your support stays local (a plus if you’re into shopping locally like I am).
I hope to see you at the library tomorrow! If you can’t make it, please show support in any way you can, whether that’s sharing all the things I just shared or supporting other favorite artists.
You. Are. Awesome.
