Mad Cave Studios 2019
Written by Anthony Cleveland
Illustrated by Jef Sadzinski
Coloured by Julian Gonzalez
Lettered by Justin Birch
After the devastating death of Flipsy and her subsequent burial at Show's End, Daxton Rickles' World Famous Circus of Oddities and Curiosities hits the road, and with the show running out of money, everything depends on Loralye and her "sharp" performance!
I am beginning to think that this should have been a six issue run instead of five. I am on the verge of feeling that this issue was rushed to put enough into it to make the story fit. I am all for the character development that we are seeing here but there's that tickle in the back of my throat feeling about this. Something may be wrong, it might be nothing just slept with the mouth open and you don't know. This to me is something that I notice but I don't necessarily feel as if it effects the outcome so much, more of an observation from a critical mind.
I like the style of storytelling that happens early on with Loralye writing in her journal narrating what is going on around her. It is a great way to see the other members through her eyes and have the opportunity to learn more about them. This part of the character development I think works in spades because it gives us that base personality and we can get that glimpse of what makes them special and how that effects their behaviour as well. It also sets up a lot of what we'll be seeing in this story as it moves forward.
The story & plot development that we see here and we see things through the release of information is very well done. I also like the layering we see in this as well with multiple arcs running simultaneously and each impacting the others in it's own peculiar way. I already mentioned the character development so let's add the pacing into the mix as it reveals these twists and turns, not to mention a revelation or three all of which creates a really nice ebb & flow the book. I will say that Loralye is a unique young lady and I have very mixed feelings about what she's done this issue regarding Pavel the pig boy. The boy likes to steal and I am not sure what was done was right but then again who is to say it's wrong, still it doesn't sit well with me. This is the power of storytelling though and if the reader can become so engaged in a story that things make them uncomfortable or question what they see then the writer is doing an exemplary job.
The interiors here are pretty darn solid. The linework here is strong and how it's varying weights are being utilised to create this kind of attention to detail is really nice to see. The faces, facial expression and body language are rendered in such a way that it's furthers the characterisation beautifully. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a nice eye for storytelling. The fact that we see backgrounds utilised as often and effectively as we do is something I love to see as they enhance the moments and bring a nice size and scope to the book. Okay no I am not sure what is going on with Loralye's dress here. I know it's Pink but is there a black design on it or not? There is so much shading within her outfit it's hard to tell if those jagged lines lead down to the tutu are supposed to be that solid black creating a design or is that shading? It bothered me the entire time we see it. Otherwise I really like the way we see the colour work here. The white against his light brown skin, the colourful array of outfits.
What I didn't know about this is this is Mad Cave's debut book by Talent Search winners. I think that makes it all the more impressive to see the level and quality of work here and how much we will see this improve as they do more sequential storytelling. I am enjoying the book very much and while it's got kinks to iron out the idea is wonderful and it's well executed.
Mad Cave is small but mighty, like the little engine that could or the ant moving that rubber tree plant. There is a wonderful indomitable feeling about them, their books and the way go about their business. Treat yourself to any of their titles and see why I think they are the exciting new publisher we've been waiting for.