Brandon Graham and Emma Rios enter the world of anthology comics with the first issue of “Island”, a new anthology series promising three 20-30 page comic stories in each issue. That’s certainly aiming high for the pair and this issue they are joined by Ludroe and Kelly Sue DeConnick to kick off the series with a bang.
Do they succeed? Is “Island” #1 worth checking out? Read on below for our spoiler free review of the issue.
Written by Brandon Graham, Emma Rios, Kelly Sue DeConnick & Ludroe
Illustrated by Brandon Graham, Emma Rios & Ludroe
PRETTY DEADLY artist EMMA RIOS and KING CITY, PROPHET & MULTIPLE WARHEADS writer/artist BRANDON GRAHAM bring you a new ONGOING & OVERSIZED COMICS MAGAZINE. Each issue holds three 20- to 30-page, ad-free, issue-length chapters of new work from around the globe. #1 features a text piece by KELLY SUE DeCONNICK, writer of BITCH PLANET and PRETTY DEADLY.
At $7.99, the most pertinent question regarding “Island” #1 won’t be “Is it any good?”, but rather “Is this worth the money?” For many, comics is an expensive hobby and trying to balance reading everything you want to read with only buying what you can afford can be difficult. I find myself frequently in this predicament (usually opting to spend way more than I should, anyway) and that would be the question I’d be asking when checking out “Island” #1. Thankfully, I would recommend that this issue is more than worth the money if you are at all interested in the work of the creators involved.
That may seem like a cop out, and I’m not saying it isn’t, but “Island” is a book with a very strong sense of style thanks to the creators involved and anyone who isn’t a fan of Brandon Graham or Emma Rios will likely not find anything they’d enjoy here. Not that they’d necessarily be interested in the book in the first place, but this isn’t an issue interested in trying to win anyone over. It’s instead focused on being a platform for artists who aren’t necessarily accepted or celebrated in the mainstream can be themselves.
The first story in “Island” #1 is one written and illustrated by Emma Rios. Rios’ name is the one that sold me on checking out this series in the first place and her story does not disappoint in the slightest. Rios’ manga influences are at the forefront here as she tells a story of three people brought together with the prospect of becoming test subjects in an experiment that will allow them to change their bodies. This is the first part of the story and so Rios focuses on introducing the three characters and their motivations while giving us a glimpse at the world around them. That glimpse includes things like off-planet mining facilities, mentions of slavery and riots and so we get a brief idea of this somewhat dystopian future surrounding these three, but the focus is their bond.
Emma Rios’ writing is surprisingly powerful as she focuses on the characters and shows them as intricate and flawed humans. One of the characters has a reason for being in the story that struck me very personally and kept me engrossed in the story. But it’s not just her writing that excels as he artwork is simply gorgeous here. Her wispy linework creates a style that infuses inspirations from both manga and European artwork and gives the story an effortlessly graceful flow.
This is helped by a vertically structured layout that blends background panels that often take up the entire page and blend scenes together without panel borders with insert panels that are usually contained to the middle of the page. This gives the page a unique feel as you end up reading downwards instead of across the page. This is all wrapped up in the bow of the monochromatic colouring that washes the page in red tones and hues and brings a simple depth to the page. While she creates an enormous level of detail in each panel with her linework, sometimes the monochromatic colouring causes details to be lost in the more hectic panels. This is the start of a story that showcases just how talented Emma Rios is as a storyteller and may just be worth the price of admission alone.
Continued belowRios’ story is followed up by a prose piece by Kelly Sue DeConnick with some illustrations by Emma Rios. This piece is a memoir by DeConnick for Maggie Estep, a writer and poet that DeConnick was close to. Far be it for me to critique a memoir, but DeConnick’s writing here is deeply personal and touching and is a genuine surprise in this issue. The solicit promised three full comic stories, but it failed to mention the touching and heartfelt prose story nestled in the heart of the issue.
Following up from DeConnick’s story, we have a continuation of Brandon Graham’s “Multiple Warheads”. Now, I have never read a single “Multiple Warheads” comic before this one meaning that this was a whole new experience for me. Graham’s writing and artwork has a style all to its, one that could be charitably described as unconventional. Graham seems to do everything to create a story that operates on a level that no one would think a comic could operate and still create an interesting and engaging story. The world is predicated on a surrealist kind of dream logic full of visual humour, written annotations, and absurdist comedy. And yet at the heart is still a very realised human connection (or, I guess, human/werewolf connection) that brings a lot of depth to the story.
Graham’s artwork is bright and cartoonish and… squishy. That’s the only word I could come up with to really capture how Graham’s artwork feels. There’s a tactile sense to the linework here that is rounded and exaggerated and creates a world that feels, well, squishy. This is brought together by colours that mix drab greys and earth tones with vibrant colours that really pop off the page. This brings home the feeling that “Multiple Warheads” feels a cartoon turned into a comic and I mean that in the sincerest possible way.
The last full story is the one that didn’t quite connect with me as much as the others. This one, titled “Dagger Proof Mummy” is written and illustrated by Ludroe as an ode to skateboarding. The story follows a young girl who is seemingly obsessed with a skater she used to admire who just up and vanished one day. That’s really the extent of the story we get here as Ludroe shows both the present and how the young girl pines for the missing skater and the past and how the girl first connected with the skater. There’s something of a mystery element involved as we also see a bandaged figure protect the girl when she is attacked, but it wasn’t quite enough to hook me like the other stories.
The artwork, however, was very interesting. Ludroe’s style is very grungy with thick, heavy lines and dark inkwork that brings a rough feel to the artwork. That, mixed with with the simple figures and the off-kilter, hand-drawn panel borders give the art here the feeling of graffiti art made into a comic which definitely fits the style of the story being told. Much like Emma Rios’ story, this comic is coloured in single tones, but unlike Rios’ it changes up the colour being used with each sequence. The present is often blue tones, cold and isolated, while the past is usually coloured in earthy and warm orange tones. While there’s definitely technical artistry on display here and the story looks great, the writing just didn’t hook me.
Finally, the comic closes with a two-page story by Brandon Graham titled “Polaris”. This is a more autobigraphical story as Graham explains the thought process and emotions behind his visual style. This is a nice send off to the first issue as the dialogue about style is one that permeates the issue and is, perhaps, one of the key factors in why the issue exists in the first place. This is a series where artists whose style usually puts them out of the mainstream can be celebrated and have their work showcased for those who are fans of that style.
All in all, “Island” #1 is an anthology issue packed full of content. It’s not the kind of issue that skimps a couple of ten-page comic stories in order to pack in some interviews or advertisements. No, for $7.99 “Island” #1 offers three, 30 page comic stories from three fantastic artists as well as a heartfelt and personal prose piece from one of the best writers in current comics. That is definitely value for money, I’d say, so all that comes down to it is whether you are a fan of the unconventional styles that these artists work in. This isn’t a house style kind of book and leans more towards experimental storytelling. For those of you who are into that kind of style, you’ll eat this up. For the rest of you, comic books are a vast ocean with plenty of fish and this one might not be for you. It certainly was for me, though.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – A strong opening issue with some fantastic pieces and showcase on unconventional style.
