Little Bird #2
Image Comics 2019
Created & Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest
Created & Illustrated by Ian Bertram
Coloured by Matt Hollingsworth
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar
Little Bird is reunited with her mother in a dreamscape where she begins to uncover the twisted roots of her family tree. Free after 30 years of imprisonment, The Axe once again takes the mantle as leader of the resistance and prepares to wage war against Bishop and his Northern Guard.
I will wholeheartedly admit that the first issue took me by complete surprise. It made me want to come back and learn more about this remarkable child. With the memory of the first issue fresh in my mind I started to read this one. If the first was able to take me by surprise the way it did I had prepared myself the wonders I would see here. Heh yeah right. Once again these folks have taken by surprise with where the story goes. This has some revelations that I wasn’t prepared for and it makes me wonder a few other things that aren’t said out loud here.
Religious persecution has been around since the Church was founded. Considering their own inauspicious start you’d think they’d have learned a thing or two, yet power corrupts and it’s no different for those at the Vatican. Still the portrayal of the man in charge of the New Vatican, on the North American Continent, is one who is rendered all too well with what many of us feel. The characterisation is uncanny in it’s portrayal of these characters and regardless of who it is and what their station in life is the way we can see, identify with or relate to abounds within these pages.
The way that this is structured is sensational. Some stories feel like a story, others feel like a day in the life while others still may meander about. This one feels like a journey through the mind of Shel Silverstein or something, a place you love to go but never want to stay. We all love to be transported somewhere else when we read, it’s part of engaging the readers’ mind to go beyond what’s on the page, that spark of the imagination is something I strive for when reading anything so that I am taken somewhere. Darcy is a revelation as a writer to me and I find myself craving what’s next.
I really am enjoying the interior artwork here by Ian and Matt. I love that we see all this linework being so integral to Ian’s style and how it can evoke a wide range of emotions. That it can be finely detailed or slightly esoteric and yet the eye still follows every last line and detail to understand the story all the better. It almost feels as if it were tailor made for this story too and while it’s Ian’s style that doesn’t deter from that feeling. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show off this interesting eye for storytelling. Seriously check out the pages you’ll understand. The colour work too can be ethereal or blatant depending on the moment, mood, tone or feel that is being sought after. Beautiful, haunting and creepy this is gorgeous stuff.
There are times when you will find a story that has this unquantifiable feeling to it that just captures the mind, spirit and imagination of the reader. Yes the story is strong, interesting and has wonderful pacing to go with the story & development. It also has some wondrous characterisation as well as those twists and turns that keep you on your toes. With familiar themes in unfamiliar settings Little Bird continues to demonstrate the power of storytelling and the effect it has on readers’.
Image Comics 2019
Created & Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest
Created & Illustrated by Ian Bertram
Coloured by Matt Hollingsworth
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar
Little Bird is reunited with her mother in a dreamscape where she begins to uncover the twisted roots of her family tree. Free after 30 years of imprisonment, The Axe once again takes the mantle as leader of the resistance and prepares to wage war against Bishop and his Northern Guard.
I will wholeheartedly admit that the first issue took me by complete surprise. It made me want to come back and learn more about this remarkable child. With the memory of the first issue fresh in my mind I started to read this one. If the first was able to take me by surprise the way it did I had prepared myself the wonders I would see here. Heh yeah right. Once again these folks have taken by surprise with where the story goes. This has some revelations that I wasn’t prepared for and it makes me wonder a few other things that aren’t said out loud here.
Religious persecution has been around since the Church was founded. Considering their own inauspicious start you’d think they’d have learned a thing or two, yet power corrupts and it’s no different for those at the Vatican. Still the portrayal of the man in charge of the New Vatican, on the North American Continent, is one who is rendered all too well with what many of us feel. The characterisation is uncanny in it’s portrayal of these characters and regardless of who it is and what their station in life is the way we can see, identify with or relate to abounds within these pages.
The way that this is structured is sensational. Some stories feel like a story, others feel like a day in the life while others still may meander about. This one feels like a journey through the mind of Shel Silverstein or something, a place you love to go but never want to stay. We all love to be transported somewhere else when we read, it’s part of engaging the readers’ mind to go beyond what’s on the page, that spark of the imagination is something I strive for when reading anything so that I am taken somewhere. Darcy is a revelation as a writer to me and I find myself craving what’s next.
I really am enjoying the interior artwork here by Ian and Matt. I love that we see all this linework being so integral to Ian’s style and how it can evoke a wide range of emotions. That it can be finely detailed or slightly esoteric and yet the eye still follows every last line and detail to understand the story all the better. It almost feels as if it were tailor made for this story too and while it’s Ian’s style that doesn’t deter from that feeling. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show off this interesting eye for storytelling. Seriously check out the pages you’ll understand. The colour work too can be ethereal or blatant depending on the moment, mood, tone or feel that is being sought after. Beautiful, haunting and creepy this is gorgeous stuff.
There are times when you will find a story that has this unquantifiable feeling to it that just captures the mind, spirit and imagination of the reader. Yes the story is strong, interesting and has wonderful pacing to go with the story & development. It also has some wondrous characterisation as well as those twists and turns that keep you on your toes. With familiar themes in unfamiliar settings Little Bird continues to demonstrate the power of storytelling and the effect it has on readers’.
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