Distillum, Vol 1: A Review

distillum, chapter 1

Yes, it’s the glorious return of Review Day Tuesday! Man, I missed sharing new reads with you.

Only, um…today’s Review Day Tuesday is on a …Thursday.

Funny story: my brain tricked me into thinking I didn’t have to update on Tuesday. Two days later, my brain was like, “Oh wait, in your email newsletter you said you would review a thing.”

So I’m going to course correct. This week’s Review Day Tuesday feature will be on a Thursday, but next week we’ll be back on schedule.

Anyway, comics!

Now, thanks in part to Swarm Con, I have a ton of new comics to cover for review, including today’s pick: Distillum, by Sarah “Pickles” Dill.

(I hope she doesn’t mind if I call her Pickles for the rest of the review).

I encountered Distillum once before, a few years ago, back when it only had two chapters online. I remember liking it, but having to leave it because other things were happening at the time.

Now, I finally had the chance to read the first book, which has the first 3 chapters PLUS extra sketches and character profiles, which I thought were a nice touch.

So what’s the story about?

Rob and Jamie are roommates living in Savannah, GA. Rob has a unique kind of clairvoyance: when someone loses something, he can touch that person amd tell them where the object ended up. Or, by touching an object, he can find where the owner is.

distillum, chapter 1 page

One night the two guys go out to hang out at the bar when they encounter a (gorgeous) young lady. They go their separate ways, but soon, on the way back home, Rob spots the purse the lady had before. When he touches it, he discovers she had been kidnapped, so they go to the rescue.

They succeed in saving her, but then strange things start happening throughout town, including the appearance of ghostly figures and an abrasive young lady named Sidney out to fight them. Just what’s going on?

distillum chapter 2 page

So, I want to get this out of the way first: I LOVE how well this story is paced. It may read like a slow build-up to some readers, but I think it’s perfect. Nothing is rushed over, nothing is overlooked. Everything ties in together. That’s kind of hard to find in comics nowadays (especially in mainatream comics. The only exception is Ms. Marvel, and that’s because G. Willow Wilson, like Pickles, knows the importance of the slow build).

Something else I really appeciate is how legible the action sequences are. There aren’t too many of them, but they’re easy to spot because the panels take on dynamic shapes.

distillum chapter 1 page

As another comic artist, I find that these layouts are cool to look at and give me so many new ideas for how I can improve my action sequences. Plus, the art style for how everything is drawn is just fantastic.

The only complaint I have about this work is that, at first, the characters are a little weak. But over time we see them grow into their own very nicely, because we get to know them more. By chapter 3, you’ll be able to pick out who your favorite characters are (personally, I love them all equally, but I love Jamie a little more equally than the others).

So, final verdict?

Well, if you’re looking for a new comic with supernatural elements with great pacing and a stand-out art style, this is the comic for you!

It’s available to read online at distillum.com, but I love the books. I know I’ll be ordering Volume 2 soon.

Have you read Distillum? What are your thoughts on it? Leave a,comment below and let me know!

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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