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Small Press Spotlight: Anne Bonnie

By | February 24th, 2015
Posted in Columns | % Comments
Banner courtesy of Mark Tweedale

Earlier today, the Small Press Spotlight focused on Blue Juice Comics and their first title, “Accelerators”. Their second comic, “Anne Bonnie”, is radically different from their first but just as worthy of a detailed examination.

Tim Yates, the series creator, started off as a nursing student before he decided to pursue a career in comics and joined the Kubert Art School. While there, he met fellow artist Gavin Smith, who later brought him to Blue Juice Comics as the colorist on “Accelerators” in late 2012. Yates had always intended to do his own book, and was preparing to pitch his idea to them when they approached him instead. Flash forward to March 2014, and the first issue of “Anne Bonnie” was hitting shelves.

''Anne Bonnie'' #1

Anne Bonnie is a historical figure, and a hardcore one at that. When she was captured by the British and tried for piracy, she was spared execution only because she was pregnant. Her husband and baby-daddy wasn’t so lucky – he was sentenced to a brutal death followed by a public display of his body. Bonnie’s last words to him? She insulted him for getting them caught and claimed she was more of a man than he.

This comic isn’t about that Anne Bonnie. In fact, it’s not even set on Earth. The story takes place in a fantasy setting, and the Pirate Queen Anne Bonnie has been missing for fifteen years. The star of the series is young Ariana, an orphan girl raised in seclusion by a pirate hunter. Her long harbored resentment toward her guardian has left her with a fascination with piracy, and she gets the chance to fulfill her dreams when she finds Anne Bonnie’s old pirate ship, which just happens to be enchanted. It quickly draws the wrong kind of attention, and she’s soon dodging lava men, vengeful captains, elf queens, and mermen. Yates sets up the kind of story he’s telling right way with his opening narration:

The series' opening sequence

From there the story moves at a quick pace, jumping from one exciting event to the next. The adventurous spirit is fueled by Ariana’s attitude of acting first and thinking second. Her innocent impulsiveness makes her instantly endearing and easy to cheer for, even when she’s at fault for whatever situation she finds herself in. The supporting cast Yates provides are great foils to his star, as almost all of them are frequently left speechless by Ariana’s brashness and mood swings. They’re equally stunned by her good luck streak, which is aided in no small part by the enchanted ship she’s commandeered.

Speaking of that enchanted ship, Yates also sneaks in some subtle bits that give the series more depth. There’s an old seaman’s rhyme that goes, “Red in the morning, sailors take warning. Red at night, sailors delight.” Traditionally, it’s about how sunrises and sunsets indicate the coming weather. Without referencing that poem at all, Yates casually drops the ship’s name – Crimson Dawn. Talk about a meaningful name for a pirate vessel. Then there are background gags, like this cameo by Aladdin and Abu:

Moments like this make me wonder how much is going under my radar

The look of “Anne Bonnie” feels just as vital to the comic as the plot or characters. After just a few issues, it’s already difficult to imagine any other artist telling the story. That’s due in no small part to the way the book is being made. When Yates writes the scripts, he intentionally leaves them very loose so he can make changes when he’s at the drawing table. This often leads to the dialogue being changed to match the pictures after the fact, removing any unnecessary exposition and enhancing the humor.

As you can probably tell, the art style is on the cartoony side. The most immediate benefit to drawing this way is the exaggerated emotions. Through caricature-like expressions and a heavy emphasis on body language, Yates is able to sell Ariana’s quick mood changes and the series’ numerous sight gags. The style also adds extra life to the fantastic elements like lava men and makes it easier to convey extraordinary actions like leaping hundreds of feet at a time.

Continued below

Attack of the Lava Men

Three issues of “Anne Bonnie” were released in 2014 before the series was put on hiatus. Yates is currently working on the next three which will be released in late spring, with plans for a collection of all six to be available at NYCC 2015. Given the opportunity, there’s enough story to “Anne Bonnie” to fill a good number of trades, and the limiting factor at the moment is rate of Yates’ output.

The first issue sold out at the distributor level in the first week, but print copies are still available from the Blue Juice Comics store and digital copies can be found on Comixology. There’s also a blank cover variant available for the first issue that can be personalized on order. Whatever your preferred method, “Anne Bonnie” isn’t a book to miss.


//TAGS | Small Press Spotlight

Drew Bradley

Drew Bradley is a long time comic reader whose past contributions to Multiversity include annotations for "MIND MGMT", the Small Press Spotlight, Lettering Week, and Variant Coverage. He currently writes about the history of comic comic industry. Feel free to email him about these things, or any other comic related topic.

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