Magic Powder #1

Writer: Jeffrey Louis Schiller

Artist: Daniele Aquilini

Rating: 6 of 8

Magic Powder #1

 

Though there are multiple genres of fiction, there are few quite as storied or as old as fantasy. With epics like the Twelve Labors of Hercules, Homer's Odyssey and The Lord of the Rings, it can be hard to feel like anything you write could ever match up. And with such an active genre, it's important to make sure your work stands out. But with so much out there, how do you do that?

Do you tell the old hero's journey, set amidst a fantastical land? Or do you go for something a little more different? Ultimately, Schiller goes for the latter, telling a story of one shrewd villain using a sudden shift in power to his own twisted ends. It could well prove to be a very shrewd move for the author, as just as it's rather compelling to follow a hero's journey, it's perhaps just as compelling to see a villain's.

Magic Powder delivers a far more urbanized take on chaos and crime than you might expect from a fantasy comic, though if you're tired of the usual swords and sorcery, this could be just the thing for you. Instead of telling a tale of all these magical creatures getting to grips with an unfamiliar world, it's a world to which they already belong.

It's a world much like our own, though instead of being filled with mankind, it teems with all kind of magical creatures. It's also a pretty fast paced tale, that never really drags and once the first major event kicks off, it really kicks into high gear and never slows down.

So far, one of Schiller's gifts is brevity. There's such an ease to his storytelling, with him establishing a sense of mystery, tension and excitement by simply telling the story. He doesn't drag it down with unnecessary exposition and it's ultimately all the stronger for it.

Aquilini's art really matches both the spirit and speed of the comic and it's all the better for it. If there was just one thing I'd criticize, it's that I feel the text boxes would be easier to read in a different font. Thankfully, it isn't that bad and there aren't too many of them. I also think the name Dwarvfather would be better without the 'v'.

Overall, a very strong debut and if Schiller and his team manage to keep it up, you're really in for a treat. 

Turning Trix #2

 

Writer and

artist: Mike Aston

Rating: 4 of 8

Turning Trix #2

There's nothing quite as frustrating as a boring story. One that angers you for all the wrong reasons, while still bad, at least ignites a passion in you, even if it is a negative one. With those, you can rage for hours about just how bad they are, but just how much can you really say about a boring one?

Sadly, for me at least, this is one of those stories. Throughout, the issue really drags, with very little to make you want to keep reading. It almost feels kind of aimless, but even if it does have a goal in mind, I'm not sure if it was worth the journey. Most of the issue is spent on Roxy recounting a tale about her friend Trixi to Mike, a fella experiencing a little engine trouble.

It's not clear whether she does this to sate his growing curiosity, or just to fill up the time. Nevertheless, she still tells it, a tale centred around her sex crazed friend, a near death experience and the true cost of friendship. Though these are all pretty good ingredients, they never come together to make a satisfying whole.

The mix of prose, speech bubbles and art just doesn't work for me. Ultimately, how a comic book's story is meant to be told is mainly through speech bubbles and a lot of art. Prose doesn't even need to be added into the mix, but if it is, it has to be done well and it just wasn't here.

The art is alright and, as above, there's a certain vibrancy found there that just isn't present in the writing. But it just isn't there often enough to make the issue worthwhile. Like the last issue, there's a certain tongue-in-cheek quality to the writing, like the name of one of the ships, which is very sexual, much like a fair bit of the comic.

Ultimately, I just don't recommend the issue.