Markosia Comics 2017
Created & Written by Dennis MaGee Fallon & Jason Palmatier
Created & Illustrated by Zach Brunner
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
When a kind English friar on the Scottish border cares for an injured fairy he believes to be human, he becomes an unwitting pawn in a war between the Catholic Church and the ancient and vengeful spirit creatures known as the Aos Sí.
There is no irony in the universe for as I sit here to write this after having read the issue i’m watching back to back Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon movies. Faith, the Church and it’s fanaticism in what it believes, wants others to believe and how it justifies its actions be it murder of a species or ideas is represented here. I do love that the guys have grounded this story in real beliefs and passions. It just sets this up as something so much more than you might have bargained for.
I have to give a major shoutout for the ingenuity here of using the Plague to rid the world of the fey. Of course that our Warbishop thinks the Plague a gift from god to cleanse the world of the unclean well that just goes to show you how these fanatics think. It’s beautiful in it’s simplicity and scary that so many follow suit blindly thinking the same way. So in homage to the past and present of the British Isle and those creatures that left their legends strewn throughout the lands comes this story.
Zach does such an incredible job with the interiors here. I love the coldness of the church and its representatives versus the grace, beauty and otherworldliness of the fey. The linework is spectacular and the use of angles and perspective are utilised extremely well. The page layouts are splendid and the use of the backgrounds rivaled through the use of colour. I am a fan of what we see here the way the work flows through the pages. There’s such beauty here in what we see and Zach has a bright future ahead of him so long as he stays true to himself and does this level of work.
So aside from the usual lesson of loving others like yourself there are other parts of this story that come across nicely. The question of blind faith with Friar Robb comes into question throughout the issue and even he doesn’t seem to see it. Though he does get it from those around him who like to point it out. Blaming someone for the work of others and letting that blind you into anger and a life that spent wasted on something immaterial. There’s great lessons to be learned here and not just from what I call the failings of the Church.
I like that we see the Fey’s trust in Robb is as bad as it is. Well Danaan feels differently of course he’s nursed her back to health. Still the relationship between species has been tenuous at best and now more strained as the truth comes to light. Is the Plague something spread by rats that cross the continent with traders and kill at random or is a tool of the church to eliminate those who they consider a threat to it’s existence? Will we ever truly know? In the meantime we get to see the bonds of friendship form in some spectacular circumstances as they race to save the lives of those Fey that are left to save.
Wonderfully refreshing in its portrayals that will force you to look at things much differently than you are used to.