Review: Sparrow Vols. 1 & 2

Sparrow: Ashley Wood
Sparrow: Phil Hale
Art by Ashley Wood (Vol. 1) and Phil Hale (Vol. 2)
Published by IDW Publishing. $11.99 USD

I dig when publishers try different formats, so I like what IDW has done with this Sparrow line of small, square, hardcovers one might give as a small gift. They're artbooks on glossy paper, but for people on a budget, sorta. The first volume features Ashley Wood's work, and it's not surprising for anyone familiar with that work: largely hot chicks, tough guys and robots. Some of it has been seen before in other collections. However, "The Treasure" had a dimension to it I hadn't seen from Wood before, both in the texture of the piece but also the fact that it was a rendering of a beautiful woman without any overt sexuality. I also liked the cover a lot because it showed the texture of an oil painting, whereas much of his work appears to be painted but is actually colored on computer. Nothing wrong with that, but seeing the real thing was nice.

I had seen Hale's work before but wasn't as familiar with it as I was with Wood's. I found I appreciate it more on a second viewing. I have some issues with the selection of images because clearly Hale has a range, but we are given perhaps too many examples of just a few styles or ideas. That is, there are many images of wiry men contorting and moving, and several images of too-similar photographic cutups of one basic image, leaving less room for some of the interesting horror work. It's good work; I just wasn't as taken with it.