This isn’t Steampunk per se, but this is a cool piece. It takes place in what looks like the Old West, but could really be anywhere. A family is destroyed, and a boy survivor trains himself to defend the helpless. He wanders, following a tune from his shattered childhood. Where is he going? Issue One is the only volume that exists, so I don’t know.
The story by Nathan C. Gooden and Damian A. Wassel is minimalist. There are few words, no speech bubbles. Sounds and dialogue scrawl directly under the action, integrated with the art. In a way, I wish there was a little more dialogue, a little more explanation of this world, a little more about the characters. On the other hand, more dialogue might get in the way of the stunning art.
The art is colored with watercolor washes, and it tells the story in sweeping sepia tones. It is quite beautiful and atmospheric, with the dreamlike quality of a memory. It is more like a gallery of sequential paintings than a comic book.
I give this graphic novel three gears out of five. The art is gorgeous, yet the story may leave too much unsaid. At any rate, it is worth a look, especially if you like works which push the boundaries of a given form of art.
Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather
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