IDW Publishing 2020
Written by David M. Booher
Illustrated by Drew Zucker
Coloured by Vittorio Astone
Lettered by Deron Bennett
Book 2 of all-ages fan favorite Canto begins!
Once, a little tin slave with a clock for a heart broke all the rules—he found love, he was given a name, and he escaped his masters to go on an epic journey to save his love’s heart. He met strange allies and terrifying enemies and, ultimately, though his adventure didn’t turn out as planned, he returned to his people and led them to freedom. That freedom is in jeopardy when Canto discovers his people’s clocks will stop unless they return to captivity. He and his friends Falco, Rikta, and Veratta embark on a new adventure to save the lives of all their people. Can they lift the curse before their time runs out?
This is the best new series to have come out in a very long time. I mean this was one that took the industry, and fandom, by storm out of nowhere. There’s a very good reason why too and what these guys have created and brought to life this little guy who’s heart and soul are on full display and he never realises how brave and heroic he truly is. Of course for me it feels like it’s a take on the Tin Man from Oz and I that plays a part in how we see and feel about him as well. I mean the mechanical man looking for his heart and it’s a universal feeling too, that whole heart and emotions that we can bond with when it comes to his search.
The way that this is being told is utterly brilliant. David has proven time and time again that he is one of the more talented writers that we’ve seen come along. He’s in that class of up and comers who’ve arrived on the scene. He, Massimo Rosi and John Lees, these are the names you need to pay attention to. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented perfectly. We see drama, intrigue and then how the bonds of friendship and family are shown so that while Canto is plagued with worry and self-doubt and his friends and his people believe in him so fully is the kind of character development that leaves the reader in awe. The pacing is perfectly done and as it takes us through the story and introduces the new adventure we see how well it all works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
The interiors here are stunningly gorgeous. What we see here through the linework and it’s varying weights and techniques to bring out such beautiful attention to detail leaves me gobsmacked. The overall tone, mood and feel that we get from the work we see and how it brings emotions to the forefront is remarkably rendered. The way we see backgrounds being utilised throughout to not only enhances the moments but it also brings us some great depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this mindbogglingly exceptional eye for storytelling. The colour work is divine. The way that we see the various hues and tones being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show an exceptional eye for colour and how it could and should be utilised.
Seriously this is the best new series to have come out in the past decade and with everything else that we’ve seen, hit stands that are really saying something. This might actually surpass the Batman with the Robin debut as the sensational new character find issue. This is a fan favourite so the question is are you a fan already or are you late to the party.