This week on Zuda Weekly, I have a look at all ten of March’s contenders for the competition. It’s another hotly contested month with a lot of titles that have shown glimmers of quality, but there can only be one winner. Who do I think it will be? Well, you might find out after the jump.
Aleksander Christov: Assassin by Janine Naimoli and Ken Frederick
Current Rank: 1
Synopsis: Aleksander was raised by an abusive & alcoholic father, in Cold War Russia. Faced with decisions of survival, he’s guided toward a life in the KGB.
My Take: Some entries this month have a real issue with narration. They simply do not have a good grasp of a narrative voice and it hinders the entire final product.
This is not one of them.
This exists as the introduction to Aleksander Christov, an assassin whose origin story is told within these eight frames as the adult version of himself narrates what he was thinking while he was born into blood. The events that transpire on the pages are one of those moments of divergence that creates who you are as a person, and I would say I’m definitely intrigued in finding out about the man this boy became. Great job to Naimoli in nailing down the narrative voice and plotting a high quality origin.
Ken Frederick’s art is solid, if not unspectacular, and does the job for conveying what needs to be conveyed. While I have problems with the actual physics of the climactic scene on frame seven, overall he gets the job done. In a month filled with some really nice work though, he definitely gets overshadowed by other competitors.
However, in a month where very few stories bring us quality in all aspects of this medium, this title does. A very nice effort by all involved.
The Fall of Inkazimulo by Aaron Watts and Chris Soprano
Current Rank: 2
Synopsis: The ancient kingdom of Inkazimulo is doomed unless a legendary hunter and a master sorceress can stop the Grand Wizard Dingiswayo. Once Inkazimulo’s greatest champion, he is now its deadliest foe.
My Take: This entry features some truly unique art, embracing what looks like a few antiquated tools to match the aged story. Single line pens used over and over to layer heavy inks, colored pencils to bring the colors to life, and hand bordering are used to bring an almost tapestry like feel to the story. While it doesn’t always work, it’s a unique and intriguing offering artistically, giving a raw alternative to the oft overproduced art we see today. The main problem with it lays in the fact that these older tools make it almost looks like something a high schooler doodled in his free time.
However, the story overall is lacking and often confusing. Focusing the text to provide more clarity as opposed to emulate the feel of an ancient text likely would have been a better idea, as I find myself getting lost in 8 short frames. No connections are made to characters and really I don’t have any sense of story.
Really, when you get down to it I’m very unsure as to how this is rated as high as it is at this point.
Bernie’s BOT by Mike Farah and Zane DeGaine
Current Rank: 3
Synopsis: Bernie Meckron thinks robots are simpler than humans. But when she uses a mysterious part to finish her own creation, she’ll discover just how complex the robotic world can be.
My Take: This competitor is flat out, wall-to-wall awesome. Mike Farah creates a world in which robots are every day things and something kids have like video game systems (except they are kind of like pets…or are actually pets in the case of Bolts). The story starts off with a showdown between two robots, but that is quickly revealed as a something that we’ll eventually get to as a 3 months earlier page introduces us to our lead Bernadette.
Continued belowThe characters are rich, with Bernie being a very intriguing and complex lead and her dad being a loving father who just wants to give her everything she deserves. In just 8 frames (7 really), the two creators gave us two characters I genuinely cared about.
Zane DeGaine cannot go unmentioned, as the visuals are astoundingly good here. From the throwback coloring to the frayed edges of the frames, it looks like and feels like a comic from the 70’s uncovered today. Artistically, it’s a kindred spirit to the recent work of Javier Pulido and Marcos Martin, and I am enamored with it.
This is a massive success in my mind, and I find myself eagerly anticipating more with the competition not even a third through. Without a doubt my favorite this month.
Snipe Hunting by Ian Williams and JM Ringuet
Current Rank: 4
Synopsis: Snipe Hunting is an Americanized imagining of the infamous Dytalov Pass Incident.
My Take: Just a beautifully told story from an artistic standpoint. JM Ringuet is real talent artistically, giving us powerful layouts and stunning visuals throughout. This guy is great, and I really enjoy his work here.
However, I have to admit while reading the story I’m not really drawn in. The spare storytelling is meant to build the mood and atmosphere throughout I think, but instead it just leaves me cold and uncaring. What was the point of this exercise? What is the long game? Is our protagonist the villain? If I cared about the answers to these questions, this could be a hit, but I really don’t. If one doesn’t care about a story, the effort is a failure. Art can only do so much really. I wanted to like it, I just really could not connect with it.
Note: Some people involved with this story claim I do not get it and that I didn’t read the synopsis. Here’s my take about it – if it’s a good comic, you don’t have to read a synopsis to understand it. They’re missing the point of the medium if they didn’t understand that. Many other competitors accomplished a high quality story without making me read a Wikipedia page about the “Dytalov Pass Incident.” That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Night at the Western by Lance Bailey, Cesar Sebastian, and Fonografiks
Current Rank: 5
Synopsis: Lost on their way to L.A., a conman and a thief reluctantly stop over for the night at the run-down Western Motel. It is a detour one of them will not survive, and the other will never forget.
My Take: This is an atmospheric and well designed offer, using dynamic and moody visuals to tell the criminal tale. Artist Cesar Sebastian does a great job framing the story and draping scenes in darkness and shadows.
However, the voiceover murders this offering like the criminal tales the writer so obviously appreciates it. Perhaps the only thing that is more oppressive than the darkness at The Western is the voiceover, effectively removing all real organic storytelling and falling into trite genre conventions. A bit of a one dimensional offering overall.
Leon and the Savage Fountain by Wesley E. Bernick, William Allan Reyes, and Erik Korsgaard
Current Rank: 6
Synopsis: Leon and the Savage Fountain is an epic tail set in the 1500’s. King Ferdinand II of Aragon send Ponce de Leon and crew to the new world on an expedition to seek out the Fountain of Youth.
My Take: This title is bolstered by very nice visuals. Overall, the pencils and colors are very well done, giving good character models and a kinetic feel to the goings on within the pages. The layouts are a little standard, rarely doing any truly interesting things with panels, but it works mostly.
However, I can’t really say I care about the story and the characters leave absolutely no impression on me as a reader. Plus, overall it feels as if it has a bit of a short sighted plot…where does it go if and when the Fountain of Youth is actually found?
Continued belowIf the writing matched the quality of art, we’d be going somewhere. However it’s a bit of non-starter for me as it is.
The Adventures of Doc & Shok by Dustin Evans
Current Rank: 7
Synopsis: Doc & Shok are a mismatched team, looking for an answer to a question only Doc knows. A world of medieval horror, technology and fantasy await them.
My Take: To me, this is a story that suffers from slavery to genre conventions and a lack of a point. I mean, within the eight frames we get one of the most oft repeated scenes in horror/comedies (“there’s something behind me, isn’t there”), we get the standard family that had been driven out of town and now lives in monstrous seclusion, and even a “you think that was bad, well it’s going to get worse” moment. The illustrations aren’t much better, as they get the job done but often facial expressions do not match the situation and the character models are androgynous (Shok is a guy?!).
Just not much going on that’s positive here for me. I shouldn’t need to read the elaborate synopsis to understand what is going on in the initial 8 frames.
Iron Bard Ballisto by Hutcho
Current Rank: 8
Synopsis: Is he the most violent musician who ever lived, or is he the most artistic warrior of our time? One things for sure, the way he wields his instruments is a travesty.
My Take: While I was amused by the first three frames and their oddly twee and harmless nature, I have to say this whole exercise doesn’t sell whatsoever. While it is occasionally well illustrated, it doesn’t do enough to sell it on having a future going forward. Just as a solo story, it doesn’t do enough to entertain me to be a standalone one. To me, it is an exercise in comic book futility, but there is talent here. Just not well combined talent.
Hourglass Falls by C.L. Horton
Current Rank: 9
Synopsis:A fantasy novel’s world is in real danger of being destroyed by the main villain. Now, only the author’s son can save, what happens to be, the not-so imaginary world of Hourglass Falls.
My Take: Before I say anything about the rest, I just have to say I love the first frame. It is perfect.
The story itself is well told, starting out as a Fantasy story and then spilling that world into reality by the end. It seems as if the son of a literary titan is a highly successful musician as well as an epic toolbox, but by the end it is apparent that his father is the Sam from the beginning of the story, the man who led the forces of good into battle. Not only that, but Mr. Toolbox (aka Oliver Broom aka Bobby Pegasus) is destined to take over for him and to help save Hourglass Falls.
The beginning is the aforementioned battle, in which a dragon named Finnley asks his rider Twain to take care of his son. While the revelation of that son does not come in these 8 frames, it does give us something else to look forward to going forward. This is a well told story and one that has a lot of promise.
The fact that it’s visually pleasing as well, with a real sense of the cinematic with the layouts as well as utilizing solid ink work and sketchiness. I honestly have no clue as to how a comic this well made is ninth, short of mass hatred of the character of Oliver Broom and the oddly long dialogue boxes.
The Rise and Fall of the Three Kingdoms by Koad
Current Rank: 10
Synopsis: This comic depicts the military and political turmoil in China at the end of the Han dynasty (169 — 290 AD), when China was divided into three states.
Continued belowMy Take: One may think an adaptation of the historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” would be a good idea. Epic story, rich characters, and more can be found there. However, in this adaptation, there is a war going on between style and substance.
While the art is rich in detail and technically good, you have to zoom in a ton to even appreciate it. This makes it hard to enjoy as a reader. Another problem is the fact that it is hard to tell the difference between characters, which makes it basically 8 pages of absolutely no character connections.
The story itself is too expository and frankly quite boring, and it is too much explaining and not enough actual storytelling. While there is likely a good story in here, the laughable dialogue and glacial pace kills any enjoyment you may get out of it. A rough outing, assuredly.
