Dark Horse Comics 2016
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated & Lettered by David Rubin
Meet Boone Dias a scientist who has found a way to travel from Earth to a magical realm of Ether. It’s place unlike any you’ve seen before full of creatures and things that defy explanation from a human perspective. It’s obvious Boone loves coming to this place and his own narration of the trip is infectious as you begin to wonder what kind of place this is. We do learn he’s traveled here one thousand two hundred times as we meet Glum the Gatekeeper of the Crossroads.
As Boone comes to the city of Agartha Glum travels with him for the very first time. Leaving his post is most unusual and the reason for this will be revealed shortly. As they make their way to where it is they need to go we get a look at the city of Agartha. It’s kind of this combination of a Dr. Suess book with something a tad more sinister acid trip. Oh thanks to David the city is very much unique and different but it does have that child’s storybook feel to it.
Actually if it weren’t for David’s imagination and creativity here the city and it’s denizens wouldn’t be quite as magical as they are. There’s a very unique blend of style here where Boone only looks slightly cartoon and yet his gadgets and such make him seem so much more than a mere scientist. The way the book flows using page layouts, perspective and angles really gives us time to hear what is being said and get a sense of this place.
I think the story is great and the people we are introduced to are wonderfully colourful and slightly off-kilter. They really have an air about them and from the way they speak and behave you kind of get a sense of who’s who and who’s a threat. It also seems that thanks to his Earthly perspective Boone’s gotten something of a reputation as a detective. He sees things a bit more logically than the locals do and his scientific mind enables him to remove flights of fancy when he thinks.
We do get to see his life on Earth, in Venice Italy of all places and he’s a completely different man than the one we’ve seen thus far. Suddenly one has to wonder if this world of Ether is real or just a delusional place he retreats to. We are granted even more to a time when he was a respected man of science. So what’s changed, how did he discover this wondrous place of Ether and how did that forever change his life? So many questions so many different avenues to be explored oh and inside all this a real mystery to solve as well.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, Matt’s mind doesn’t tend to work like that of a normal person he can create some pretty incredible complex stories that take you by surprise. This one certainly does as by the end of the issue we all have this burning to desire to learn more about Boone, his life and what led him to his current situation. Don’t think for a moment you’ll understand what is going on this is going to be a journey you have to take and let Matt reveal the layers in his own fashion to comprehend what’s really going on. Sit back relax and just the experience laid before us as with all things time will tell all.