Release #1 - Death Comes for the Toymaker
144 pages
1: Death Comes for the Toymaker
1.9K views • Feb 05, 2025
Death comes for us all. But for Gil the Toymaker, the visit is an eternal tragedy!
Every year the holiday gift giver visits children all over the world on a special night, but Gil’s immortality comes at a cost. Forced to do the work of Death, carrying a list of ready-to-harvest souls alongside his naughty and nice lists, Gil gives toys AND takes souls all in one night! But as the Toymaker reflects on the relationship he’s had with Death for several millennia, an associate reveals a scheme that may just put an end to Death’s contract (and, perhaps, Death himself!)
Cducharme 7 months ago
Loving seeing books that were promised by an unnamed entity being finally set free, and with one of my favorite newer pubs to boot!
MagmaComix 6 months ago
Thank you for noticing and calling out our commitment to creators. Hope you enjoy the book!
RapidFireReviews 6 months ago (edited 6 months ago)
Thoughts…
When I read the one shot of this series it really hit me how the whole concept of the story was so well considered and thought out. Taking Santa and Death and intermingling them with middle eastern mythological stories and characters works so well. The trade expands on that a lot more and we see more myths brought to life as the book continues. The trade carries with it the same humour and heart that was in the one shot. We get to see a much fuller story of Gil and Death, we only got a glimpse of it in the one shot but this allows for us to see the friendship grow throughout the years and the trials and tribulations that come with that relationship.
The way the story is told works really well, flitting back and forth between flashbacks and the present. Each flashback gives us more details of Gil And Deaths time together and how they became who they are today. The use of the myths to tell this story works so well, it gives a lot of gravity to the whole tale. The main story itself would have made a great read but the tales in the flashbacks add so much to the whole thing. I know they are integral to the whole plot of the book but I would have read and enjoyed reading just the myths or just the present day portions. This book could have been quite a heavy read but there are a lot of moments of humour throughout, especially from Death, he seems quite the comedian. Those moments of levity really endears the story to the reader that much more.
The artwork throughout the trade has a really great look to it all, it really matches the feel of the story nicely. While depicting fanciful and mythological creatures and events never goes too far so that you are pulled out of the experience of reading, the illustration enhances the experience allowing you to enjoy the word and images in unison rather than one overpowering the other. Death is such a standout in his design, though simple and fairly traditional in his appearance for some reason he stands out every time he appears in the pages.
I really enjoyed reading this trade/OGN, it had such a rich backstory to it. The relationship between Gil and Death was a joy to see begin and build and to see how their existences intertwined throughout the years, and how that friendship became strain as time went on. The other characters we meet along the way are all so unique and each enhances the story in their own way, especially Gils Mother and the God Ea. This was a fairly long read at 134 pages but I did it all in one sitting as I could not put it down. It is a full and well crafted tale, you can tell a lot went into this creatively, the effort of the whole team shines through. I would give this a score of 8 out of 10