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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
The art is better than the story, and the characters are fairly derivative. I'm not sure I want to read too much into the representation of the bison tribe as simpleton American Indian analogues or the fact the wise wizardess warthog is clearly the all-knowing black woman in her African tribal garb.
Busiek has avoided such things in his other work, so he's earned some patience from me.
I've seen variations on this theme before, but the above trepidations aside, it was a decent story. Since this was only the first arc I knew there wouldn't be a tidy resolution, so the cliffhanger ending (or in this case, cliffjumper) was expected. It would have been nice to see some of the truly bad guys get punished rather than just the pawns of their evil schemes, but I'm sure their comeuppance will be served up steaming hot.
Hmm, I seem to be banking a lot that Busiek is setting us up for a twist to turn things on their head later. I hope he delivers, because otherwise this is basically going to turn out to be a bad anthropomorphic 1950s Hollywood Western.
Busiek has avoided such things in his other work, so he's earned some patience from me.
I've seen variations on this theme before, but the above trepidations aside, it was a decent story. Since this was only the first arc I knew there wouldn't be a tidy resolution, so the cliffhanger ending (or in this case, cliffjumper) was expected. It would have been nice to see some of the truly bad guys get punished rather than just the pawns of their evil schemes, but I'm sure their comeuppance will be served up steaming hot.
Hmm, I seem to be banking a lot that Busiek is setting us up for a twist to turn things on their head later. I hope he delivers, because otherwise this is basically going to turn out to be a bad anthropomorphic 1950s Hollywood Western.
A champion is needed
This is a world built on magic, but the magic is running out. In a last ditch effort, a rogue group of wizards work together to summon the great champion who brought magic into the world to begin with. What they end up with is wholly unexpected.
The creators did a phenomenal job of bringing the Autumnlands to life. The characters are drawn beautifully and infused with personality. They are each an anthropomorphic depiction of a different animal. And the setting itself is drawn wonderfully as well. The places where these characters live feel real.
There is a lot going on in this book, but it doesn't feel overdone or scattered. The various parts of the plot connect together well. Definitely recommended for fans of fantasy settings and political intrigue.
This is a world built on magic, but the magic is running out. In a last ditch effort, a rogue group of wizards work together to summon the great champion who brought magic into the world to begin with. What they end up with is wholly unexpected.
The creators did a phenomenal job of bringing the Autumnlands to life. The characters are drawn beautifully and infused with personality. They are each an anthropomorphic depiction of a different animal. And the setting itself is drawn wonderfully as well. The places where these characters live feel real.
There is a lot going on in this book, but it doesn't feel overdone or scattered. The various parts of the plot connect together well. Definitely recommended for fans of fantasy settings and political intrigue.
Not really my cup of tea. I had a hard time getting past the anthropomorphism; I'm not sure if it was that or other issues with character development, but I had difficulty connecting with characters in order to become emotionally invested in the plot.
As for a formal critique: the artwork was beautifully done. I don't gravitate towards realism and the one human looks a little meh/overly violent, but I dig the colors, the rich backgrounds, etc. The lettering and treatment of speech bubbles was one of the nicest I've seen. I also thought it was clever that the chapter intros looked like vintage fiction books about knights and dragons. So, some good stuff.
As for a formal critique: the artwork was beautifully done. I don't gravitate towards realism and the one human looks a little meh/overly violent, but I dig the colors, the rich backgrounds, etc. The lettering and treatment of speech bubbles was one of the nicest I've seen. I also thought it was clever that the chapter intros looked like vintage fiction books about knights and dragons. So, some good stuff.
Busieks nye science fiction-fantasy mesterværk understreger hvor formidabel en forfatter han fortsat er. Fantastisk!
Gorgeous art and awesome world building are the stand out features of this volume. In a fantasy world, populated by anthropomorphic animals, magic is starting to fail. When a magical catastrophe leaves the inhabitants of a flying city stranded in a hostile land, their survival depends upon an unlikely savior.
If I was to pick out a flaw, it was mostly that there wasn't much development for the character of Learoyd - despite how important he is to the story. It was hard to form much of an opinion on him.
I really enjoyed this - the characters are wonderfully expressive (which must be hard with animal faces), the art is very detailed, and the story kept me interested the whole way through and had me excited for volume 2.
Final verdict: Thoroughly enjoyable.
If I was to pick out a flaw, it was mostly that there wasn't much development for the character of Learoyd - despite how important he is to the story. It was hard to form much of an opinion on him.
I really enjoyed this - the characters are wonderfully expressive (which must be hard with animal faces), the art is very detailed, and the story kept me interested the whole way through and had me excited for volume 2.
Final verdict: Thoroughly enjoyable.
This is a great opening to what promises to be an epic (in pretty much every sense of the word) series. I love the art and I am excited and intrigued to find out where Busiek takes us.
I know quite a few people who read comics, their tastes vary, some like Marvel others like DC, but there's always a commonality between them, and that's that they like comics about superheroes. Superheroes... Don't get my wrong, I do like the X-Men... though I've never read any of the comics, and don't pretend to know anything about the X-Men's universe or their stories, but when it comes to superheroes, I never really got into them. Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, all the others... I've seen the Marvel movies, the Batman movies, and for me, seeing them once was enough. I just don't like them, I just can't connect to any of the characters. Even when they're darker and fleshed out with human flaws and secrets, I still just don't care. And for years I've been baffled as to why people flock to the theatres to see the newest Avenger's movie, or the newest Marvel movie, because... yeah they're flashy, and they have big-name Hollywood actors, but for the most part... the movies are dull, the characters are dull, the script's are poor, and you know the superheroes are always going to win, so... why. WHY.
All of that is not to say I didn't read comics growing up, I actually did... but, and if you know me well you wouldn't be surprised, they were all Star Wars comics. I ESPECIALLY enjoyed the Republic series that took place during the Clone Wars and highlighted the various battles and missions that took place during that time line. All the stories about Quinlan Vos, K'Kruhk, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the ROMANCES between Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura, and especially between Tholme and T'ra Saa... awww, the good old days before Disney came along and decided to fuck over the Star Wars canon and erase so much that we fans held dear.
But growing up, those were the comics I loved, those were the comics I was into. And for years I thought, that when it came to comics, there was Marvel superheroes, DC superheroes, and Star Wars.
It wasn't until a few years ago that I wanted to get more into comics and graphic novels, but didn't (and still really don't) know where to start. I knew I wasn't into superheroes, and hoped that I could find some fantasy-themed comics. Basically I was looking for something with a Lord of the Rings feel, but as a comic... and that was harder to find than I expected. I did some research, but my EXCELLENT googling skills (sarcasm) led me no where. I asked people at Chapters, workers, regulars who were just hanging out in front of the comics, and still no one could point me to a high fantasy comic series aside from Elf Quest, whose art I wasn't really keen on. I'M PICKY, OKAY?
Back in December, when I won some money from Chapters, I decided one day to sit myself down in front of the comics and graphic novel section, and NOT LEAVE until I had found a comic with art I liked, and a story that had fantasy elements to it. And I actually ended up buying a few books! One of them was The Autumnlands.
Written by Kurt Busiek, and illustrated by Benjamin Dewey, The Autumnlands tells the story of anthropomorphized magical beings from all different types of animals and creatures we know on earth. They are divided into the magical wizards and civilians who live in floating cities, and the savage beings who live on the ground. After realizing that their supply of magic is dwindling, a wizard known as Gharta, (who is a warthog) attempts to bring an enigmatic figure from the past known as the Great Champion, into the future with a powerful spell. This champion first opened the wells of magic in the world a millennia ago, and they hope that by bringing him back, he'll be able to restore magic to the world in the same way he brought it forth in the past. But after bringing the champion out of the past, the group of wizards, who all claim the champion to hail from their individual animalistic tribes, are shocked by what the champion actually is.
This comic was SO good, the storyline was well thought out, and while the character of the Champion left something to be desired, all the other characters were so well done with hidden motives and very human desires and characterization. The art is also phenomenal. Dewey's work on this comic is beautiful! I was a little concerned that it'd be... sort of childish or middle-grade, it is a story about anthropomorphized creatures after all, but it's got a very dark and real feel to it... not to mention the Champion runs around naked for a few pages... and there's definitely nudity involved, haha. But I would definitely recommend this comic to anyone looking for a fantasy comic series. The second volume of The Autumnlands will be released this coming February, and you can bet I'll be in line to pick it up the moment it comes out!
If you've read The Autumnlands, tell me what you think about it! And if you have any other fantasy comic or graphic novel suggestions, please let me know! Even if they're webcomics, or more obscure ones. I'm definitely looking to broaden my comic/graphic novel collection!
---
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOS, AND MY OWN NOVEL SERIES, CHECK OUT MY BLOG:
www.michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
All of that is not to say I didn't read comics growing up, I actually did... but, and if you know me well you wouldn't be surprised, they were all Star Wars comics. I ESPECIALLY enjoyed the Republic series that took place during the Clone Wars and highlighted the various battles and missions that took place during that time line. All the stories about Quinlan Vos, K'Kruhk, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the ROMANCES between Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura, and especially between Tholme and T'ra Saa... awww, the good old days before Disney came along and decided to fuck over the Star Wars canon and erase so much that we fans held dear.
But growing up, those were the comics I loved, those were the comics I was into. And for years I thought, that when it came to comics, there was Marvel superheroes, DC superheroes, and Star Wars.
It wasn't until a few years ago that I wanted to get more into comics and graphic novels, but didn't (and still really don't) know where to start. I knew I wasn't into superheroes, and hoped that I could find some fantasy-themed comics. Basically I was looking for something with a Lord of the Rings feel, but as a comic... and that was harder to find than I expected. I did some research, but my EXCELLENT googling skills (sarcasm) led me no where. I asked people at Chapters, workers, regulars who were just hanging out in front of the comics, and still no one could point me to a high fantasy comic series aside from Elf Quest, whose art I wasn't really keen on. I'M PICKY, OKAY?
Back in December, when I won some money from Chapters, I decided one day to sit myself down in front of the comics and graphic novel section, and NOT LEAVE until I had found a comic with art I liked, and a story that had fantasy elements to it. And I actually ended up buying a few books! One of them was The Autumnlands.
Written by Kurt Busiek, and illustrated by Benjamin Dewey, The Autumnlands tells the story of anthropomorphized magical beings from all different types of animals and creatures we know on earth. They are divided into the magical wizards and civilians who live in floating cities, and the savage beings who live on the ground. After realizing that their supply of magic is dwindling, a wizard known as Gharta, (who is a warthog) attempts to bring an enigmatic figure from the past known as the Great Champion, into the future with a powerful spell. This champion first opened the wells of magic in the world a millennia ago, and they hope that by bringing him back, he'll be able to restore magic to the world in the same way he brought it forth in the past. But after bringing the champion out of the past, the group of wizards, who all claim the champion to hail from their individual animalistic tribes, are shocked by what the champion actually is.
This comic was SO good, the storyline was well thought out, and while the character of the Champion left something to be desired, all the other characters were so well done with hidden motives and very human desires and characterization. The art is also phenomenal. Dewey's work on this comic is beautiful! I was a little concerned that it'd be... sort of childish or middle-grade, it is a story about anthropomorphized creatures after all, but it's got a very dark and real feel to it... not to mention the Champion runs around naked for a few pages... and there's definitely nudity involved, haha. But I would definitely recommend this comic to anyone looking for a fantasy comic series. The second volume of The Autumnlands will be released this coming February, and you can bet I'll be in line to pick it up the moment it comes out!
If you've read The Autumnlands, tell me what you think about it! And if you have any other fantasy comic or graphic novel suggestions, please let me know! Even if they're webcomics, or more obscure ones. I'm definitely looking to broaden my comic/graphic novel collection!
---
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOS, AND MY OWN NOVEL SERIES, CHECK OUT MY BLOG:
www.michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
The artwork was definitely amazing, I found myself admiring the style for minutes on some pages. The storyline was good, the characters were interesting but they lacked character development. Overall, I found it to be a very interesting start for a series of graphic novels. I think it has the potential to get better in the next book.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A