Adventure stories for children starring children will never go out of style. From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to The Neverending Story to Goonies, there’s a great thrill in young ones being able to see themselves as the protagonists in exciting situations. The Lost Path by Amélie Fléchais is one such tale in which a trio of boys find themselves in the thick of a secret world of strange and wondrous creatures, but how does it measure up to some of the classics?
With some writing help by Jonathan Garnier, The Lost Path is written and illustrated by Fléchais. The book opens with a fairy tale of an older couple whose spirits are trapped by the forest before it quickly transitions to boys playing a scavenger hunt in the forest. They get lost and as the night grows darker, they find their situation growing stranger as they move deeper into the forest.
The story itself feels heavily influenced by Where the Wild Things Are, a notion that is supported by the Maurice Sendak quote that proceeds the book. The boys interact with the creatures, not understanding the world that they’ve arrived in, and with no understanding of the dangers they face. In addition to this, I find a lot of influence from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in the way the plot revolves around the forest guardian and the quest for the crown. Both of these are ideal stories to draw inspiration from for a children’s book of these sorts as they are seminal classics, but I don’t think Fléchais really handled the interpretation of the themes properly.
The problem with the story is that the boys don’t do anything. They’re simply reacting to everything that happens around them. They don’t learn any lessons, they don’t affect the world in any way. Their only purpose is to witness the events and they, and by extension the reader, don’t get the chance to see anything through to the conclusion. That’s one of the major shortcomings of the book, in that the story doesn’t really matter. (We don’t even discover the outcome of the scavenger hunt.)
One of the things that turned me off most about The Lost Path was its abrupt ending. While the kids’ journey is an interesting one, the characters they meet are far more intriguing, but Fléchais never dives into any of them. I wanted to learn more about the fox and his supersonic bike, or the moose and how he got the bowler hat, or even what the deal was with the hat. Unfortunately, all of these characters are just incidental, there to give the boys a sense of wonder. Since the story is told from the perspective of the boys, once they are out of the woods, we lose all connection to these strange and wondrous creatures. Their tales are never finished and that’s just a shame.
The book’s art is breathtaking. The illustrations by Fléchais are magnificent and really bring her world and characters to life. Her style suits the creatures she’s created and I love the spin she gives the look of the humans. Each of the boys is unique and easily decipherable at a glance. I also loved the sparse use of color in the book. Most of the pages are black and white, rendered in great detail, but every so often readers are treated to a page of full, vibrant color, which makes the scene more dramatic when juxtaposed against the monochrome panels.
The art also does a great job of slowing down the reader. The Lost Path has a very fast paced story, with so much happening in so few pages that it’s easy to breeze through the whole thing, but the highly detailed art forced me to pause and pour over the details in the minutiae on page, which helped me to digest the story better.
The Lost Path is beautiful visually but doesn’t pack much originality. I would have preferred to spend more time with the Guardian, learning about her kingdom, or some of the animals in the forest. It was slightly disappointing that Fléchais gleaned over all of these interesting situations and themes, instead focusing on the boys finding their way home. I understand her decision, though, as this story felt aimed for children. All in all, it’s a good story for those who are interested in child adventure stories but doesn’t offer much depth.
Grade: B-
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Catalyst Prime: Noble #1 cover by Roger Robinson
As one of the smaller independent presses, Lion Forge Comics is not very well known. Most of their line up consists of comics based on popular 80s franchises (as well as a few not-so-popular). As of recently, though, they are jumping into the super hero game, starting with the release of Catalyst Prime: Noble, a prelude to their upcoming Catalyst Prime universe.
The premise behind Catalyst Prime is that a massive asteroid is heading to Earth and only 5 astronauts are able to stop it. It’s a fairly straight forward premise, one that leaves a lot of room to work with. We’ll learn more about what they’re calling “The Event” on Free Comic Book Day when Lion Forge gives out copies of Catalyst Prime: The Event. From there, the Catalyst Prime universe will slowly unfold in seven monthly comic books. One of these is Catalyst Prime: Noble, which focuses on David Powell, one of the astronauts involved in The Event and what becomes of him in the following year.
The main cast of Noble is only two characters, the aforementioned David and his wife, Astrid. Writer Brandon Thomas was wise to structure the introductory chapter like this as it made it easy to follow. Being new characters, we don’t know much about the kind of people David and Astrid are, so throwing a wide cast at new audiences may become confusing and alienate readers. By paring that down to two, especially two who are so closely tied together, Thomas create a far simpler reading experience while getting the most out of the story.
Most of the issue focuses on David, who has no idea who he is but shows some powerful telekinetic abilities, being pursued by a specialized military team. Everything is left ambiguous; we don’t know why David’s on the run, why these men are chasing him, or who the mysterious “she” is that sent them. It’s a well written, well paced scene that’s enhanced by Roger Robinson’s art.
A page from Lion Forge’s ‘Catalyst Prime: Noble’ #1
What I like most about the art is Robinson’s style. He uses a lot of lines, most especially in his figures and when indicating motion. It’s very different from a lot of the more mainstream comics and lends the book a gritty feeling. I use “gritty” as it’s supposed to mean; coarse and dirty, not dark and broody as it’s become to be known. Which I mean as a compliment. The scene involved David being chased by a group of large men through a sandy, desert town. One word that should be used to describe this is “gritty.”
The panel progression is very cinematic. From the very first page we get a slow zoom out from Astrid’s wedding ring as she sits nervously in a waiting room. This transitions to a flashback of not long before, revealing the reason she’s nervous. That lasts less than a page before we return to the present moment, when Astrid is given terrible news and breaks down in tears. Three pages is all it takes to recap her harrowing experience losing her husband in The Event and it’s all that’s needed. Wonderful work by both Thomas and Robinson.
I also loved the end twist. It’s a pretty big reveal that most writers would dangle in front of readers, dropping little clues here and there through subsequent issues in order to keep them on the hook. But Thomas tells us up front at the end of the issue who is masterminding the hunt for David. It’s a great reveal because it opens so many more questions that entice readers to come back without resorting to clichés and cheap tricks.
As a fan of super heroes, it’s nice to break away from the worlds of Marvel and DC, which are steeped in so much history that it’s often difficult to keep up. Catalyst Prime offers a reprieve from that, with strong characters that we get to see evolve and grow in real time. It’s also great to see a comic so deftly blend the techniques of filmmaking into its storytelling. I hadn’t heard much about Catalyst Prime before reading Noble but now I’m definitely looking to go deeper into the universe.
Grade: B
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You may have seen the hashtag #FCBD on your favorite social medium as of late. In case you were confused by the jumble of letters, that stands for “Free Comic Book Day.” The day is quickly approaching, happening on May 6th of this year. If you’ve never heard of the event, we’ve put together a short primer to help you out.
What is it?
FCBD art by Rian Sygh
Taking place on the first Saturday of every May, Free Comic Book Day is an international event in which comic book stores give away comics to anyone who comes in. It’s not every comic, mind you; there are a wave of comics branded with the FCBD logo which are eligible. But these titles span such an array of genres and ages that you’re bound to find something that appeals to you.
FCBD has been such an outstanding success that 2017 marks its fifteenth year in existence.
Where is it?
Everywhere! OK, well, not really everywhere. Not all comic shops participate in FCBD. Luckily, there’s a comic shop locator on freecomicbookday.com that will point you to your nearest participating store.
DC Super Hero Girls FCBD from DC Comics
What can I expect?
Here’s where it gets fun. First of all, you can expect free comics. However, which comics is up to the shop. There are different tiers of offerings available at different stores so it all depends on how your local comic shop is participating. That Store Locator should help you determine where to go if you want to score a specific issue.
What’s available?
Ah, now you’re asking the right questions.
There’s a ton of good stuff. Fans of Marvel and DC movies won’t be disappointed as both Guardians of the Galaxy and Wonder Woman get the FCBD treatment this year, just in time for their respective films to hit theaters. But Marvel is also offering a chapter from their Secret Empire storyline while DC taps the popular DC Super Hero Girls for a comic.
Archie Comics gets into the mix with two titles of their own. The first is an all-new Betty & Veronica with art by the amazing Adam Hughes. Archie will also be offering a comic based on the popular Riverdale television show from The CW. That one should go over nicely.
A few highlights (or at least titles that I’m most excited for) include:
- TMNT: Dimension X prelude from IDW
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess/Ocarina of Time from Viz Media
- Doctor Who from Titan Comics
- Buffy: The High School Years from Dark Horse Comics
Catalyst Prime FCBD from Lion Forge
I’m also excited for Lion Forge Comics, which is using Free Comic Book Day as a stepping stone to launch their newest series, Catalyst Prime: The Event. Written by Christopher Priest with art by Joseph Illidge, the solicit for Catalyst Prime sounds pretty solid and this should be a good series. And with the intro to the series being free, it’s worth checking out,
Of course, that’s not all that will be available. Head over to the FCBD website for the full run down. (http://www.freecomicbookday.com/catalog) (Also, once again, not all of the titles will be available everywhere. You may want t check with your local shop to see if they ordered the one you’re looking for if they participate at that level.)
Anything else?
Yes, so much more!
Because this is such a huge event for local comic stores, many of them go all out to promote it. One of my local shops brings in members from the 501st Legion, a devoted group of Star Wars costumers who make various charity appearances. Every year you can see them roaming the sidewalk outside of the store, greeting pedestrians, interacting and taking pictures with customers waiting on line and just bringing an air of joviality to the occasion.
Yet another of my local comic and gaming store had cupcakes. Yes, homemade cupcakes with little plastic rings featuring Thor and Iron Man. That was a tremendous treat. (Sadly, this store has since gone out of business. I was definitely looking forward to seeing what they did for FCBD this year.)
Sweet, delicious FCBD cupcakes
Many comic book stores also host writer and artist appearances. They’ll invite creators to interact with fans, sign autographs, sell sketches… They basically turn Free Comic Book Day into little comic cons.
Some stores will host free or paid raffles and give customers a chance to win some cool prizes.
A lot of the supplemental fun is up to the individual comic shop and not hosted by FCBD so call your local store to see what, if anything, they may be planning.
I hope many of you are planning on visiting your local comic shop(s) on Free Comic Book Day. If you do just remember, these comics are free to you but the stores still have to pay for them. So when you get your free stuff, make a purchase as well. Like any other business, local comic shops only survive if they turn a profit. If you want to be able to enjoy Free Comic Book Day in the coming years, show them some monetary support.
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #4
Review | The Lost Path by Amélie Fléchais
Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #2
