Written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith
Illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson IIIContinuing the saga of the New York Times-bestselling graphic novel! Following the shocking revelations of The Stuff of Legend Volume 2: The Jungle, Jester embarks on a solo quest that will take him to the farthest corners of the Dark. High seas adventure awaits!
Stuff of Legend v2 ended on a wonderful Empire Strikes Back-esque note. Hop past the cut to see what’s in store for our animal toy friends next when this new volume starts next Wednesday.
As a note, no spoilers for this issue are discussed, but spoilers for the last two volumes are. Keep that in mind if you haven’t caught up yet (and it should be noted that this isn’t exactly a clean jumping on point, either).
The world of Stuff of Legend is made up of pure wonder; there is no lighter way to put it and no better way to start a review than with that note. Mixing in elements of Toy Story as well as Saving Private Ryan and a hint of Lord of the Rings, the first two volumes of Stuff of Legend have been the stuff of wonder (and I’m not just saying that to try and write a pull-quote – this book is just great).
It’s with that in mind that the eagerly anticipated third of volume starts, with the fellowship of stuffed animals in ruins and most of the characters off doing their own thing. We’re given a quick spot of world building before focusing on the eponymous Jester and his newfound friendship with the Mayor, as the Jester sets off on his own adventure. The curious thing about this particular issue is the new character introduced; assumedly if you’ve been following the Stuff of Legend for it’s two volumes, you’ll have grown quite accustomed to the format of the book – that is to say, we follow our characters on their quest, see the people they see, and don’t stray too far from that. This issue introduces a new character and element, one that is more than welcome as it adds a brand new twist to the mix that is sure to have an interesting pay-off down the line. Suffice it to say, as the world expands, so does the mystery of the Dark and all of the things that it hides, and as readers who have assumedly had toys as children, this new element offers up an assumed twist that will assuredly have a chaotic fallout. (Possible spoiler alert: The new character introduced is a second Jester, which would seem to apply that the boy owned two Jester toys, the two of which could have been “related” and one of which was definitely lost – which could leave the first and more violent Jester seen in the beginning of the issue a bit unhinged, and even vengeful – but only time will tell.)
Despite being “The Jester’s Tale”, though, the book does give ample time for our other lost heroes. With volume 2 ending with Max’s betrayal and the others leaving, the book sees Max trying to make ammends without actually showing Max. It’s an interesting way to persue the idea; obviously Max was full of regret for the events that took place, but what makes the execution in this issue so interesting is that we never actually see Max, only hear from him. It helps the reader to connect with the ostracization of the character in a unique way, and spending the rest of the book with a former villain as a sidekick kicks those emotions into overdrive. Raicht and Smith aren’t pulling any punches with this story, and now that we are officially in the Dark and have crossed the line between a light-hearted toy romp into a violent world of death and betrayal, the book only becomes that much more exciting to follow along with.
Suffice it to say, volume 3’s first issue is definitely a hit. It’s a little bit slow in patches, but it is greatly enhanced upon a second read. You would imagine that, for a story that has a fairly easy to grasp premise, that the story would be streamlined to specific themes and ideas, but the guys behind the book never cease to pull a trick out of a hat at the last second to enhance the intrigue. The new character is certainly a clever enigma and the ending sequence is spectacular and rather unexpected. Just when you think you’ve acclimated to the world, something new presents itself, and all does not look well for our hero. It’s certainly exciting to guess what happens next.
Continued belowThe visual aspect of the book and it’s uniqueness are what truly help to make this such a stand-out among shelves, though. Charles Paul Wilson III is an incredibly underrated artist who brings this world to life in incredible fashion. In terms of visuals, the whole book is an actualization of the pure imagination that we’ve all had as children when playing with our toys, realized in full force to become a form of reality for the characters. It’s incredibly apparent on the first page alone, illustrating a fantastic battle sequence between five warring ships. The other characters in the book, all of whom are toys brought to life, are done in a unique and timely way that really help to give the book a World War II era-esque feel. The colors and design for the whole endeavor done by Jon Conklin and Michael DeVito are also perfect, giving the book a dark and aged feel that helps the books tone feel more actualized.
The Stuff of Legend’s third volume starts off with a bang and trails off with a great to be continued in the end. The book has slowly and steadily been growing in quality (that started from a high point anyway) since the first volume, and has grown into a wonderful comic series that perhaps defines “hidden gem” in the indie world right now. If you haven’t already hopped on the Stuff of Legend bandwagon, you’re only doing yourself a disservice. In a comic boo kworld where fans are constantly fighting against changes, it’s nice to be reminded that there are books out there that are free to do their own thing, and that kick a great deal of ass doing just that.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy!
