Many have heard the myth of the Philosopher's Stone, which, it is said, can turn base metals to gold and possibly, grant eternal life. Very few have learnt the secret of the First Matter, the mysterious element which can create the stone, and they are not in a hurry to share it. "Riddler's Fayre" is a brand new series of graphic novels based in the times following the Third Crusade, and features a vanquished Crusader, a sorcerer's apprentice, the Wandering Jew, an exiled English boy and his guardian, plus a showgirl and her Fayre - a troupe of travelling artisans and animals. All of them are united by one thing, the quest to put right the defeats of the past: perhaps, an alchemical riddle will give one team the advantage.
Credits:
Writer: Steve Carroll Artists: Jeff Anderson Publisher: U-Sharp Comics Ordering: Best bet is via amazon.co.uk, ISBN 1905496001, or your local comics shop or book shop.
Format:
Superbly presented hardback book – 46 pages of story plus about a dozen pages of supplementary material, end pages, sketches. Really could not ask for better presentation: it’s very, very smart and looks great on your shelf.
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The Story:
A one page text piece brings you into the story at a slightly advanced stage – almost like you’ve missed reading the prologue. This allows the story to get going and (the many) characters to be introduced doing interesting things, with pertinent history bits and pieces filled in via flashbacks or dialogue sequences as we move along. A couple of contrived coincidences feel a little out of place – most characters turning up in the same area at roughly the same time grates a little – and there’s not a huge amount in the way of action for fight junkies. What you do get, however, is solid plot progression, a good idea of where things may be heading and enough intrigue to keep you reading. There’s not a huge amount in the way of humour – this is a serious work, but a smidgen of levity sprinkled here and there would certainly not have gone amiss.
The Art:
There’s an authentic feel to the art, as if a certain amount of research into costumes and towns of the period, rather than just drawing from pure imagination, and a mostly structured and neat flow to events. Occasionally one feels that an exclamation too many is used to close a page to draw the reader onto the next – okay okay, so I know Scott McCloud likes that sort of thing, but it’s got to feel right every time, and I’d rather the creators had more faith in their story’s ability to pull you along with it.
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Occasionally it feels like the backgrounds are a little too sparse, but the preview art from volume two indicate this is likely to be a one-off, as there’s some very nice pieces to look forward too (sample above).
And Finally…:
A very good package and one which forces you to redefine “small press” – there’s no way this can be described as amateur - in terms of presentation, in terms of story, in terms of art, in terms of…comics. It’s a professional product. It’s not small press, it’s comics.
Outro:
May 12th and 13th, 2007.
That’s the Bristol International Comic Expo 2007.
SBC will be there, talking and promoting UK Comics plus some special extras.
Wanna be there as one of our guests?
Stay tuned for more info, or write in and ask for details!
-- Craig.
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