SBI Press 2019
Created & Written by Chris Mancini
Illustrated by Fernando Pinto
Lettered by Troy Peteri
Comics shop employees Marla and Phil discover the truth about Jason's past as the Child Knight, and are horrified to learn that he refuses to return to Elvenwood in its time of need. Even if he can be convinced, their first step is to find the powerful sword he up and threw away-and the second is to learn to use it before the witch queen's forces get to them!
I hate that occasionally I find myself so backlogged that I forget what's in my review folder as I concentrate on what's new in that week. I saw this in there and I had no idea what it was so I opened it and thought oh heck that first issue was so much fun. So here we are, I apologise to SBI and the creators for taking so long on this.
So we pick up where last issue left off as Jason takes the Elves to his house. There is something inherently funny and entertaining about seeing beings from another universe seeing a collector's collection for the first time. We'll gloss over the fact he lives in his mother's basement though. The whole opening here is fantastic and it just screams to the reader so many cliché moments that you smirk and you giggle and overall you just have a damn good time. This is what the reader sees first and it has to have that X factor to it to make them want to see more, and ya know what this has it!
I like the way that this book is structured. There is this great flow to the storytelling through it's pacing including the story & plot development and the character development as it all weaves through it all. The introduction of characters is nicely done and feels like a natural extension of the story. So does the fact that Marla and Phil having discovered the arrow in the store and have an inkling of what is happening also is something feel right. Jason has talked about this often enough that they know his story inside out and that helps matters greatly. Everything that we see happening to help the story move forward is done intelligently.
The interiors have that indie feel to them that evoke feelings in me of something Kevin Smith would do, like Clerks or in that vein. The linework is nicely done and the attention to is great to see. I do not enjoy the fact that while in basement and with his collection all around them there are so many blank backgrounds. Don't set me up to be disappointed, we've seen the place and to just put heads in a long panel is kind of a let down. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a solid eye for storytelling. The colour work we see is nicely done as well. The glowing parts are sensational and bring in that little something extra.
I love how we see the events unfold. This reads like a great comedy film with an array of characters who all add something unique to the table. The fact that the bad guys here get that same treatment while wasting time doing things that well red blooded males would do make some rather hilarious moments that's for sure. The more I think about it the more I see Kevin Smith films or like Hot Tub Time Machine in the nature of the story itself. This is a huge compliment from me because the level of storytelling in the writing is so good that it makes you feel you are a part of something that will end up as a cult classic and pop culture icon in the future.