Mae vol.2 #1
Lion Forge Roar 2018
By Gene Ha
Colour Assists by Wes Hartman
Lettered by Zander Cannon
Mae, Abbie, and Kvido have nearly escaped death countless times, but that won't stop them from taking on the Zemětřasi to rescue their father. When they stumble across Petra Stoneheart, an old friend of Abbie's, Mae starts to learn more about the unfamiliar fantasy world she's followed Abbie through and about the sister she's been separated from for years.
First I hadn’t realised how much I had missed this till I read this issue. I was lucky enough to meet and talk with Gene about this series at C2E2 and it’s always a joy when you are as passionate about a series as it’s creator is. We talked about the move from Dark Horse to Lion Forge, which had me excited then as it does now, and I found out that Gene is a hell of a nice guy and why it’s so easy to see his personality in his work.
Good Grief Charlie Brown when you open this and see the first page and how the colours pop and the linework that makes up the characters and shading the trees and the almost out of focus way we see the characters in back that is the moment you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you are in for something extraordinary. It does everything an opening is supposed to do, captures the attention of the reader and leaves that desire to see more.
Even better is that the entire time we see Mae, Abbie (Ani) and Petra is something you can join and not feel like you’ve missed out because you haven’t read volume 1. New reader friendly is always a bonus and since it did switch companies and it has been a minute it’s also a great catch-up on what’s come before for established fans. This is also where we learn about Ani being Queen, why it happened and why she abdicated, nice way of saying she quit. The way that this book is structured is fantastic as is the pacing and the speed at which information and background is thrown at us.
The amount and kind of characterisation that we get throughout this encounter redefines the way that I see Abbie that’s for sure and it pretty much makes Mae feel lost. While there may be an unconditional love for her sister they have grown up in much different ways and regardless of family bonds they are strangers. For the first time we see this as not something positive but something that will tear them apart. I think I understand Mae well enough by now but Abbie is a complete mystery and the more we learn the further from understanding her I get. Mind you this is not a bad thing because it essentially means I'll be returning tried and true to find out more.
I love the interiors here. That everything we see is exactly what is intended to get the maximum impact from the reader is extraordinarily well done. The way page layouts are utilised and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows of this beautiful eye for storytelling. The characters themselves have such individuality to them and the attention to detail that we see through the use of varying weights in the linework are stunning to see. Somehow Gene is able to make this all come across as both charmingly innocent and wise beyond their years all at the same moment. Backgrounds are what they are but seeing them used as effectively as we do makes me wish we’d see more.
The character development and the way the story progresses all make this something is beautiful for an all-ages audience. While it doesn’t surprise me Abbie has had girlfriends it is usually the go to in comics to use women in same-sex relationships. Be nice once in a while to see it be men. Anyway this is one of those utterly charming, sincere and dastardly deceptive books you’ll read and have an absolute great time doing it.
Lion Forge Roar 2018
By Gene Ha
Colour Assists by Wes Hartman
Lettered by Zander Cannon
Mae, Abbie, and Kvido have nearly escaped death countless times, but that won't stop them from taking on the Zemětřasi to rescue their father. When they stumble across Petra Stoneheart, an old friend of Abbie's, Mae starts to learn more about the unfamiliar fantasy world she's followed Abbie through and about the sister she's been separated from for years.
First I hadn’t realised how much I had missed this till I read this issue. I was lucky enough to meet and talk with Gene about this series at C2E2 and it’s always a joy when you are as passionate about a series as it’s creator is. We talked about the move from Dark Horse to Lion Forge, which had me excited then as it does now, and I found out that Gene is a hell of a nice guy and why it’s so easy to see his personality in his work.
Good Grief Charlie Brown when you open this and see the first page and how the colours pop and the linework that makes up the characters and shading the trees and the almost out of focus way we see the characters in back that is the moment you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you are in for something extraordinary. It does everything an opening is supposed to do, captures the attention of the reader and leaves that desire to see more.
Even better is that the entire time we see Mae, Abbie (Ani) and Petra is something you can join and not feel like you’ve missed out because you haven’t read volume 1. New reader friendly is always a bonus and since it did switch companies and it has been a minute it’s also a great catch-up on what’s come before for established fans. This is also where we learn about Ani being Queen, why it happened and why she abdicated, nice way of saying she quit. The way that this book is structured is fantastic as is the pacing and the speed at which information and background is thrown at us.
The amount and kind of characterisation that we get throughout this encounter redefines the way that I see Abbie that’s for sure and it pretty much makes Mae feel lost. While there may be an unconditional love for her sister they have grown up in much different ways and regardless of family bonds they are strangers. For the first time we see this as not something positive but something that will tear them apart. I think I understand Mae well enough by now but Abbie is a complete mystery and the more we learn the further from understanding her I get. Mind you this is not a bad thing because it essentially means I'll be returning tried and true to find out more.
I love the interiors here. That everything we see is exactly what is intended to get the maximum impact from the reader is extraordinarily well done. The way page layouts are utilised and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows of this beautiful eye for storytelling. The characters themselves have such individuality to them and the attention to detail that we see through the use of varying weights in the linework are stunning to see. Somehow Gene is able to make this all come across as both charmingly innocent and wise beyond their years all at the same moment. Backgrounds are what they are but seeing them used as effectively as we do makes me wish we’d see more.
The character development and the way the story progresses all make this something is beautiful for an all-ages audience. While it doesn’t surprise me Abbie has had girlfriends it is usually the go to in comics to use women in same-sex relationships. Be nice once in a while to see it be men. Anyway this is one of those utterly charming, sincere and dastardly deceptive books you’ll read and have an absolute great time doing it.
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