Scout Comics 2016
By Tom Lintern
This is what happens when a group of industry veterans form a new company they find the projects that have this passion, creativity and talent to bring us a new wave of books. There’s so many good quality offerings out there from places you need to seek out because books like this need to be read, experienced and enjoyed.
From the get go you are swept up on Tom’s artwork. It’s beautiful, strange and very much like a children’s book and yet so incredibly detailed and it just has this awe, wonder, love and care put into it that sweeps you up and carries you along for the ride. The attention to detail he brings in this style of art is breathtaking and that these people have a look of dwarves or some fantasy creature to them only heightens the experience. Tom’s eye for storytelling, utilising page layouts through angles, perspective and the use of backgrounds to control the flow of this story while fleshing out this wondrous world is spectacular.
Princess Uralla, ruler of Gania, reaches the Gunflin City in her quest to find the lost Empress. She hopes that the council of the Dwarlin Elders, the oldest beings in all of Gania, will aid her in her search. This is the premise of what we see this issue. As the Princess comes we also meet Jarra whom I have a feeling will play a larger role in this story. The characterisation here is lovely and I like this whole issue is structured the way it is. There’s a lot of things happening only through illustration with few words to be found.
When the dialogue starts it starts in earnest and we learn quite a bit about the people and the city. While the background is more ambiguous that’s perfectly fine it adds an air of mystery and the desire to keep coming back to learn more. Jarra for instance he’s a worker and knows electronics and has that more scientific mind and loves to work. While his friends are little more prone to taking time off and going on fantastic adventures, that may or may be based in reality. While the trio go to a secret place to listen to what the Princess has to say you start to see how things may start to unfold.
This story really does capture the imagination, the mind and you find yourself lost in something that perhaps Tolkien would’ve done if he’d written more science fiction. In many ways it feels like Middle Earth mixed with Dune and that’s as close as I can come to comparing to anything else. The originality and creativity from Tom here is wonderful to see. From what we learn there’s a grand epic adventure waiting to be had and we have only an inkling of those that will participate.
I can’t recommend this highly enough. It’s original, creative and just beautifully rendered.