Rise #2
Scout Comics 2019
By Don Aguillo
Young Queen Zakaiah and her reluctant entourage are in the midst of ambush by a cadre of vicious soul-thieves on the dark road to the first in the trials of the House of Jasser, a series of tests designed to train her to rule the Kingdom she’s inherited. Uncertain about the individuals assembled to guide and guard her and lost in a foreign landscape, she learns her first lesson in survival and sacrifice.
I have said time and time again that anyone who can write and illustrate their own work is some I instantly admire and Don just keeps showing us that he’s more than worthy of that admiration. I know that so many leaps and bounds have been made in digital artwork, which I will get into later, but it still takes talent. Also that this has such a wide range of possible genre’s attached to it makes me very happy as well because no one wants to be pigeon-holed into just one.
Atilio’s introduction to the group and the conversation they are having among themselves only serves to strengthen what we see of the story. I love that he’s got a Star of David around his neck and that they consider this the old ways, like saying this is Earth but in the future that’s wrapped around from the past and into a world where magic and beasts roam. Kind of like Thundarr the Barbarian in concept because we don’t really see landmarks to prove otherwise. This is the blend of everything yet nothing solid to confuse it with anything else that I mentioned. It is one more thing about all this that keeps me riveted to the page.
That Atilio may seem like a clumsy naive young man with glimpses of lycanthropy about him what he brings to the table however is invaluable. His home or workshop or the combination thereof shows us just how underestimated he is by others as much as by himself. The characterisation here is so flawless and how we see their personalities grow and develop with each turn of the page. I feel like we are still in the exploratory stages of the book as we are getting to know the characters, the roles they play and who has those ulterior motives behind everything they do. I look forward to see more and more of this as the story progresses.
The interiors here are really quite beautiful to see. The brush strokes and the linework that we see blends the effect of a painting with an ink wash style to create this stunning look. The way colour is utilised to create highlights in hair, fabric as well as showing where the light source comes from is so captivating. Then there’s the black and white work with just those touches of colour that change the entire tone, mood and feel of the story as they find themselves in a place seemingly devoid of colour. Plus the utilisation of the backgrounds here from the laboratory to the mountains to the trees of black they really expand each and every moment we see as well as provide this sense of size and scope to this world. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels showcase a stupendous eye for storytelling.
Zakaiah is indeed a young girl with a heavy burden placed upon her shoulders. One that her parents no doubt thought she wouldn’t have till she were much older. There are those who see an Aristocracy or having a Queen, regardless of her being so young, as obsolete while others covet her position and will do whatever it takes to wrest control. So all the more impressive is the way that Don is able to show us this remarkable young girl, her control and mastery of herself while making us care about her and those around her, those who would protect her with their life. Coming of age in this atmosphere isn’t easy and it has to be exponentially harder on someone so young.
This journey that we have embarked upon here is so amazingly well written and so stunningly beautiful to lay eyes on.
Scout Comics 2019
By Don Aguillo
Young Queen Zakaiah and her reluctant entourage are in the midst of ambush by a cadre of vicious soul-thieves on the dark road to the first in the trials of the House of Jasser, a series of tests designed to train her to rule the Kingdom she’s inherited. Uncertain about the individuals assembled to guide and guard her and lost in a foreign landscape, she learns her first lesson in survival and sacrifice.
I have said time and time again that anyone who can write and illustrate their own work is some I instantly admire and Don just keeps showing us that he’s more than worthy of that admiration. I know that so many leaps and bounds have been made in digital artwork, which I will get into later, but it still takes talent. Also that this has such a wide range of possible genre’s attached to it makes me very happy as well because no one wants to be pigeon-holed into just one.
Atilio’s introduction to the group and the conversation they are having among themselves only serves to strengthen what we see of the story. I love that he’s got a Star of David around his neck and that they consider this the old ways, like saying this is Earth but in the future that’s wrapped around from the past and into a world where magic and beasts roam. Kind of like Thundarr the Barbarian in concept because we don’t really see landmarks to prove otherwise. This is the blend of everything yet nothing solid to confuse it with anything else that I mentioned. It is one more thing about all this that keeps me riveted to the page.
That Atilio may seem like a clumsy naive young man with glimpses of lycanthropy about him what he brings to the table however is invaluable. His home or workshop or the combination thereof shows us just how underestimated he is by others as much as by himself. The characterisation here is so flawless and how we see their personalities grow and develop with each turn of the page. I feel like we are still in the exploratory stages of the book as we are getting to know the characters, the roles they play and who has those ulterior motives behind everything they do. I look forward to see more and more of this as the story progresses.
The interiors here are really quite beautiful to see. The brush strokes and the linework that we see blends the effect of a painting with an ink wash style to create this stunning look. The way colour is utilised to create highlights in hair, fabric as well as showing where the light source comes from is so captivating. Then there’s the black and white work with just those touches of colour that change the entire tone, mood and feel of the story as they find themselves in a place seemingly devoid of colour. Plus the utilisation of the backgrounds here from the laboratory to the mountains to the trees of black they really expand each and every moment we see as well as provide this sense of size and scope to this world. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels showcase a stupendous eye for storytelling.
Zakaiah is indeed a young girl with a heavy burden placed upon her shoulders. One that her parents no doubt thought she wouldn’t have till she were much older. There are those who see an Aristocracy or having a Queen, regardless of her being so young, as obsolete while others covet her position and will do whatever it takes to wrest control. So all the more impressive is the way that Don is able to show us this remarkable young girl, her control and mastery of herself while making us care about her and those around her, those who would protect her with their life. Coming of age in this atmosphere isn’t easy and it has to be exponentially harder on someone so young.
This journey that we have embarked upon here is so amazingly well written and so stunningly beautiful to lay eyes on.
RSS Feed
