We-view – Doe-eyed Adventurers

“When you get served lemons you make lemonade.” –Unknown

Cooper, Joss, Becka, and Benny are four very adventurous children and in New Brighton Archeological Society-The Castle of Galomar these four children enter into a world filled with magic, fairies, goblins, and assorted odd creatures illustrating the classic themes of good vs. evil, and friendship with a good dose of problem solving.

In 2007, Mark Andrew Smith, the author of this graphic novel, said, “…I wanted to do an adventurer type of story with some kids for an all ages’ audience where it’s a lot of fun but also has a great mood and tone to it.”

Like many stories with adventurous children, Tale of Unfortunate Events comes to mind, Brighton Society begins with a tragedy. The children’s parents, four explorers, supposedly plummet to their untimely deaths while exploring a icy tundra. The kids are sent to their godparents where their parents lives while they were growing up.

Being the children of explorers, they immediately begin to explore their new environment and find, after taking a tumble into a shaft covered with snow, a hidden library cum clubhouse belonging to their parents. This discovery sparks something within the kids, who find themselves, delving into books, papers, photographs, and trinkets left by their parents.

Soon we find the young explorers venturing into the forest, around the estate and encounter Mitch, a goblin who befriended their parents years ago and now invites the doe-eyed children into the goblin kingdom and with the help of his parents, tells them the goblin history.

Ice cream serving ghosts, fairies doused with syrup preventing them from flying, and a butterscotch addicted goblin all combined for a fun reading experience for anyone 6 to 60.

I give it 4.5 PRADAs.

We-View Wednesday – Sky Doll

“Creationists make it sound as though a ‘theory’ is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.” –Issac Asimov

As I review Sky Doll, Vol. 1, I am uncomfortable thinking that I might offend a reader (not that we have many, but thanks to those who come back) so be forewarned.

Out of the highly imaginative and one might say twisted minds (totally a compliment) of two Italians, Barbara Canepa and Alessandro Barbucci, comes Sky Doll, a sexy, adult-oriented, sci-fi escapade about a sex robot, Noa who discovers her soul in the middle of a flying car wash.

Set in the futuristic holy city of Papathea, Sky Doll revolves around a society dominated by the Papess Lodovica, who is the center of gigantic staged reality-tv pageants, intended to rouse the populous by displaying her faux stigmata which squirt blood and preforming her supernatural, godly powers which include blasting participating worshipers with lasers into heaven in a blaze of glory.

All the pomp and circumstance of these extravaganzas is made possible through a series of machine-like mechanisms controlled by a tall, lanky, character resembling the stereotypical likeness of Jesus Christ, whose job includes putting on these spectacles as well as sexually satisfying the desires of the Papess Lodovica. He appears discontent and annoyed by his duties but then get more information about him from his backstory (you can find this out on your own, if you wish, I don’t want to spoil it for you).

Noa is unhappy with her created life and in the first panel, Noa looks directly at the reader and speaks to god. She tells god that she is not very happy with his management skills, that there is room for much improvement, and indicates that a suggestion box should be used in order to improve their relationship and “collaboration.” From the image of the suggestion box, we see Noa’s god, pictured as a Jabba the Hut, reptilian type figure, who is neither open to Noa’s suggestion nor respectful of her opinion (after all she is just a sexy robot).

After getting nowhere with her god, she is ordered to return to her job, at the AstroWash, a service that is overrun with space-crafts and flying cars. Noa and her co-workers, other robots, wash vehicles and assist in satisfying needs without “soiling” souls. Disliking her job and wanting more, Noa runs away and stows aboard a spaceship controlled by two missionaries of Papess Lodovica, Roy and Jahu. Unbeknownst to Roy, who believes he is on a diplomatic mission, Jahu has direct orders to destroy a scared fish belonging to the woman of Aqua. This fish is worrisome to Lodovica for it alone perpetuates the women of Aqua enabling them to reproduce without the men.

My Judeo-Christian background, in the form of an angel on my shoulder screamed at the top of her lungs for me to stop reading many times, especially when she saw the Christ-like figure savagely entering Lodovica, while an audience of Sky Doll putti looked on, some covering their eyes (which I wanted to do on a few occasions). However the devil, on the left, pulled me along, making me spread my fingers apart to view one more panel, then another, and another.

I often forgot about the things that made me cringe, and pray for forgiveness for reading when I got to, for instance, the humourous scenes with Frida, a Dame Edna look-a-like who hosts the weekly Papess Lodovica reality shows or when Jahu and Roy bicker with each other.

Even though the book uses love, friendship, deceit, morality, sexuality, politics and religion—usual a good combination, to grab the reader, for me the bigger appeal is the artwork itself. Even when the story was intricate and a bit confusing, the art kept me turning the pages. From the candy coloured pop in panels to the more subtle, classical Renaissance palette the art is stunning—each panel filled with little details of architecture, billboards, creatures, gadgets, along with lizard and canine inhabitants—all keeping my attention and drawing me further in.

If you can overcome some of the possible offensiveness and the social commentary, you should definitely check it out. I give Sky Doll a solid 4.5 PRADAs.

NOTE: Sky Doll #4, Sudra is in production in France.