I've been a little behind on my reviews, and to be honest, it's because I've been flying through these comic volumes while putting away at the behemoth finale of Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, and I've been working a lot on my own writing, the fourth book of A Chronicle of Crowns, and a new romance novel I've entitled As the Sea is Cold. But a few weeks ago I finished From Under Mountains, a middle-eastern themed fantasy comic written by Claire Gibson and Marian Churchland and drawn by Sloane Leung. It tells the story the ruling family of Karsgate Keep, a mountainous fortress on the edge of the kingdom of Akhara. In the aftermath Lady Elena defies her grieving father to assume his role in an ancient trading tradition between the people of Akhara and the goblins that live in the mountains beyond, in order to keep Akhara safe.
This comic book, published by Image Comics, has received rave reviews since it's release in 2016. And I can understand why. The artwork is incredibly beautiful and the story was thoughtful and whimsical. It was unlike any other comic I've read, and almost felt like a progression of movie stills, or a storyboard, with it's simplistic artwork and detail to environment. For example the story ambles forward overtop a number of panels depicting a bird flying over the landscape, or the wind brushing past grass. Instead of concentrating on characters and moving from scene to scene with their dialogue, it dances between scenes with beautiful artwork and delicate scenery.
Despite the incredible artwork, beautiful colouring, and delicate story, something about this story was lacking - the characters. In the dull, slow moving pace of the comic and limited dialogue, the character development and interactions with one another definitely suffer. I never once felt connected to any of the characters and to be honest they all sort of faded into the background beneath the beautiful artworks and barren world. The slow burning story also seemed to ditch any world-building. I want to know more about Akhara, I want to meet the goblins, I just want more. And that could stem from my love for high fantasy. One of my favourite aspects about fantasy is the world in which the story is set, and if it's not fully fleshed out, or if it feels lacking... it hinders my overall experience with the book or comic. I know it shouldn't, but it does. I just like my world-building!
Will I continue on with this series? Yes, I think I will... not out of any loyalty to the characters, or a desire to see where the story goes, I'm really just interested in diving back into this artwork. It was so beautiful, I definitely recommend checking it out just for the artwork alone!
