Writer: Delilah S. Dawson
Artist: Matias Basla
Lettering: Jim Campbell
Cover: Miguel Mercado
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Spoilers
I’m always up for some stories about the faefolk, and the awesome cover for Sparrowhawk caught my attention immediately. Artemisia is a character from 1850s England, with a case of bitter resentment and a rebellious attitude, all with good reason. Akin to Dorothy and Alice, she gets pulled into the Land of Faerie one fateful afternoon and this is where things get really interesting.
The art is very quirky in this comic. I really like the jagged quality of the lines. It might be cool if there was a completely different style or different artist drawing the actual world than the one that depicts the world of the fae, but that was just a fleeting fancy I had. The colors are really flat, which may have been intentional to look like illustrations in old children’s books, but…I wish there were more shading, even if it was just subtle. I think this would add a lot of depth to the drawings that is missing currently.
I liked the plot, but there is a really big hole that bothered me. Artemisia’s reaction when she gets pulled into the Land of Faerie is just…blah. I mean, you are in a world completely different from all you know and you just ask, “Where am I?” and “Who said that?” Maybe it’s just me, but the reaction seemed really dull and not at all terrified, or even elated (which could have happened based on what she just escaped from back home) or both all at once. At any rate, it should have been way more vital of a turning point, but maybe the creators were channeling Artemisia’s inner ‘curiouser and curiouser’ vibe. Other than that, the story was cool, the dialogue was simple (if a bit unfitting for the setting), and the characters were enchantingly scary, all of them. A charming first issue with a lot of potential. And wings. I’m in, how about you?
Overall: 7/10
Tee LaFrance Todd writes, edits, reads, explores, and creates whenever she can find the time. When she’s not engaged in some form of storytelling, you can find Tee traversing the world with her husband and her dog, making things, reading tarot cards, and generally striving to live a life beyond anything she can imagine.
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