Enter the world of the weird and wonderful in “The Fiction” as Curt Pires and David Rubin explore the life-changing fantasy that can be found simply by delving into a good book.
Read on for our spoiler free review of “The Fiction” #1 and see why you need to be reading this book.
Written by Curt Pires
Illustrated by David Rubin
What’s to Love: Curt Pires (POP, Mayday) is a fountain of fascinating ideas, and we’re excited to publish his latest offering, The Fiction. Fans of titles like Locke & Key and The Unwritten will take to its story about a group of childhood friends who discover doorways to other worlds through a set of strange books. Bringing this story to life is David Rubín, who Paul Pope dubbed “ …a big talent and the real deal.”What It Is: Four childhood friends discover a box of strange books that, when read aloud, can transport them to the beautiful, imaginary worlds described within. But when one of them goes missing, the others vow never to reveal where they’ve been and what they’ve seen. Years later, when one of the remaining kids, now an adult, also mysteriously disappears, it’s up to the last two of the group to dig up their dusty books to find him and finally figure out what happened to their friend all those years ago.
Stories, I think, are one of the greatest inventions of mankind. They speak to us, they thrill us, they frighten us. They comfort us and they speak to the deep, dark corners of our mind that we daren’t tread alone. They are truly beautiful and I think the only things more beautiful are the stories that examine and speak about the impact that stories have on us as people. “The Fiction” is a story about stories and it is beautiful. There’s simply no other word for it. Curt Pires and David Rubin introduce us to a world where anything is possible. A world that captures the imagination and comes to life like no other. And that world is accessed through a book.
As a first issue, “The Fiction” seeks to tease us. The main focus of this issue is to introduce us to the group of main characters, first as children and then adults, and how their lives are changed when they find a book that transports them to a place of wonder. The world of The Fiction – the book in the comic, not the comic itself – is only briefly glimpsed while the focus of the issue is really on the people in the story. We only get a snippet of their lives and how they have matured over the course of the time jump after they were affected by The Fiction, but Pires lets their personalities fill the page.
For a writer who has, in the past, written some pretty dense, idea-heavy comics like “Theremin”, this is the most accessible writing I’ve seen from Curt Pires and it really allows the characters to really stand out. Not to say Pires’ character was lacking in the past, but he really puts the people first in this story and they bring with them an emotional connection between the reader and the events of the story. Meanwhile, the world of “The Fiction” – the comic this time – is brought to life beautifully by David Rubin and Michael Garland
And peaking of David Rubin and Michael Garland… wow, this book is pretty. It’s kind of hard to be object about the art in this issue. Sure, there are going to be people who aren’t into this art style, but the artwork in this issue is simply so striking. The colours are vibrant and they explode off the page, even in what could otherwise be described as the “real world”, and Rubin’s style is simple and clean and has an exagerrated, cartoonish edge that allows the world of reality and fantasy to mesh together in a very clean way.
Rubin’s storytelling is also very clean and meticulous. The layouts of the the issue are very grid based and uniform which brings the focus to the art inside the panel which is full of a great attention to detail. The only times Rubin experiments with the layout is while inside the world of The Fiction and it’s there that the boundaries of reality seem warped and conveying that through the layout of the panels on the page is an extremely nice touch. It brings the world alive in a very real way, but keeps the distinction between what we think of as realities nice and subtle.
Continued belowAs stated, this is the kind of first issue that teases you. It baits you with the high concept by asking a number of questions about what The Fiction is and what the world the character enters is, but then hooks you by creating compelling characters who feel real and who you want to follow on this journey. Curt Pires channels a very Stephen King-esque vibe to the writing as he focuses on the characters and the snippet of the journey we see them take after encountering The Fiction while letting the larger ideas bubble under the surface. David Rubin, meanwhile, lays it all out on the page and creates a simply gorgeous piece of art with the help of colourist Michael Garland who brings it all to vibrant life with a palette that is bright and varied.
This is a pretty interesting first issue and while the series may take its time to delve into the really dense, idea-driven writing that Pires has shown in the past, he excels at creating well rounded characters in this issue that you want to follow into the next. “The Fiction” #1 is well worth checking out as it comes from creators who really know their craft and know just how much to tease you and leave you wanting more while keeping you fulfilled with fantastic writing and gorgeous artwork.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – A bit of a slow burn, but there’s enough here to make it worth checking out with the promise to grow into grander things.
