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Daily Breakdowns 003 - The Stuff of Legend
The Stuff of Legend Vol. I: The Dark, Book 1
Written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith
Illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III
Published by Th3rdworld Studios. $4.99 USD
I guess this makes me one of those guys who has to describe things as a cross between something and something, but this new comic reads kind of like Fables crossed with Toy Story. Writers Raicht and Smith are smart to set about smashing that Toy Story feel right away, though, as we only start seeing the boy's toys start talking and moving on their own after the boy has been snatched from his room by some creepy black tendrils. Didn't see that coming. Led by the Colonel--a WWI soldier figure (the story takes place in 1944)--a handful of brave toys mobilize to head off into the dark to rescue the boy from the Boogeyman. Yes, the Boogeyman, and it's a testament to the writers and artist Wilson III that this Boogeyman is honestly pretty scary. He's flamboyant and gloating and manipulative and prone to sudden violence; pretty standard devil stuff here but well-done, and a good character design.
The art by Wilson III is strong, confident but not precious, and delicately shaded without being too fussy. The somber palette lets one know that this isn't going to be a children's book even if the book's dimensions are closer to that format than the typical comic book. When the toys enter the world of the dark, they basically come to life as their idealized selves, and it's astonishingly well realized by Wilson, with Max the teddy bear's transformation to grizzly being the most dramatic. I kind of like that the Boogeyman's world isn't filled with really obvious signifiers of evil. It's just rolling hillocks, some normal oak trees--it makes the Boogeyman stand out more, with his dark cloak dripping malevolence upward like a lava lamp.
I like Percy the Pig, too; he's going to be a pivotal character. Right now it seems it was the Colonel's worst mistake to recruit him for this mission, but the beats of the story and the characterization of The Boogeyman reminded me quite a bit of Stephen King's The Stand, so I would not be surprised if Percy gets a chance for redemption eventually. He's a great choice for recruitment to "the dark side"--all the toys "live" with the realization they may be forgotten by the boy, but only Percy might be intentionally broken, since he's a piggy bank. I was also taken by the idea, expressed by the Native American Princess doll, that these toys each have a bit of the boy's soul in them, due to the ways in which the boy plays with them, and presumably the amount of time spent playing as well, with The Colonel representing the brave part of the boy's soul. A nice idea that stayed with me.
It appears readers are in for a long story, though, with many battles and twists to come. And that's fine, because at $4.99 for an extra-sized, gorgeous chunk of fantasy, this one is a real bargain. Those looking for the next eye-opening debut, the next Mouse Guard, would do well to check this one out.
Christopher Allen
August 14th, 2009
If you'd like your book reviewed in Daily Breakdowns, email me.
Written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith
Illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III
Published by Th3rdworld Studios. $4.99 USD
I guess this makes me one of those guys who has to describe things as a cross between something and something, but this new comic reads kind of like Fables crossed with Toy Story. Writers Raicht and Smith are smart to set about smashing that Toy Story feel right away, though, as we only start seeing the boy's toys start talking and moving on their own after the boy has been snatched from his room by some creepy black tendrils. Didn't see that coming. Led by the Colonel--a WWI soldier figure (the story takes place in 1944)--a handful of brave toys mobilize to head off into the dark to rescue the boy from the Boogeyman. Yes, the Boogeyman, and it's a testament to the writers and artist Wilson III that this Boogeyman is honestly pretty scary. He's flamboyant and gloating and manipulative and prone to sudden violence; pretty standard devil stuff here but well-done, and a good character design.
The art by Wilson III is strong, confident but not precious, and delicately shaded without being too fussy. The somber palette lets one know that this isn't going to be a children's book even if the book's dimensions are closer to that format than the typical comic book. When the toys enter the world of the dark, they basically come to life as their idealized selves, and it's astonishingly well realized by Wilson, with Max the teddy bear's transformation to grizzly being the most dramatic. I kind of like that the Boogeyman's world isn't filled with really obvious signifiers of evil. It's just rolling hillocks, some normal oak trees--it makes the Boogeyman stand out more, with his dark cloak dripping malevolence upward like a lava lamp.
I like Percy the Pig, too; he's going to be a pivotal character. Right now it seems it was the Colonel's worst mistake to recruit him for this mission, but the beats of the story and the characterization of The Boogeyman reminded me quite a bit of Stephen King's The Stand, so I would not be surprised if Percy gets a chance for redemption eventually. He's a great choice for recruitment to "the dark side"--all the toys "live" with the realization they may be forgotten by the boy, but only Percy might be intentionally broken, since he's a piggy bank. I was also taken by the idea, expressed by the Native American Princess doll, that these toys each have a bit of the boy's soul in them, due to the ways in which the boy plays with them, and presumably the amount of time spent playing as well, with The Colonel representing the brave part of the boy's soul. A nice idea that stayed with me.
It appears readers are in for a long story, though, with many battles and twists to come. And that's fine, because at $4.99 for an extra-sized, gorgeous chunk of fantasy, this one is a real bargain. Those looking for the next eye-opening debut, the next Mouse Guard, would do well to check this one out.
Christopher Allen
August 14th, 2009
If you'd like your book reviewed in Daily Breakdowns, email me.
Posted by ChristopherAllen at 12:05 AM [Link to this post]
2 Comments:
Great review, Chris. This was an impulse buy for me (which I rarely do anymore) based on the beautiful art, and the endorsement by Frank Quitely on the back cover, but it was surprisingly a really good story, too. This might be a real sleeper, but I hope it catches on, because I thought it was very well executed on all levels. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the story progress.
You said it. Impulse buy for me as well, and happy I did.
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