What would you do to go exploring, save the world, or solve a murder? Today's Fresh Friday Features is all about going all out to get what we want either for us, or for those we love and care about.
This week, Shane from Comic Book Squares, @byrononeal from Comic Book Yeti, and ArtCrumbs have picked out four titles that they feel deserve more reads! In our line-up this week, we've got one comic from each category to give you a varied list of must-reads for your weekend!
- Comic - Beorn: Beorn's world is big, full of living myths and fairy tales, but that won't stop the littlest Viking from living a legendary life!
- Comic - Tomorrow Girl: A normal 16 year old girl is endowed with powers beyond belief! She then fights for Truth, Justice and the AMERICAN WAY!
- Manga - Dragon of God: A High Fantasy story of the City of Dusk, a young boy, and a stirring fate soon to come.
- Webcomic - The Pale: Agent Franklin Ink is not acting on behalf of the FBI when he tracks down a killer to small town Arizona, but Agent Ink isn't the only one keeping secrets.
Now that we've met our four fresh picks, let's dig into each of them!
Beorn, 112 pages - Published by Red 5 Comics, (cc/ @joshuastarnes)
As featured on Free Comic Book Day! Beorn's world is big, full of living myths and fairy tales, but that won't stop the littlest Viking from living a legendary life! After Beorn finds his way to an uncharted island, he wastes no time launching headfirst on his quest for adventure... or at the very least, his quest to find a sandwich! What perils await young Beorn in this new land, and will the littlest Viking be big enough to rise above the dangers coming his way?
Story and Art by Red 5 Comics
Comments from @byrononeal:
Hark, for it is a time of Vikings and apparently gratuitous armpit hair. For this week’s review I went looking for a land full of fjords and fairies and found a little spitfire of a Viking named Beorn. Beorn: The Littlest Viking Saga from creator Ben Bender and publisher Red 5 Comics follows the journey of a diminutive, axe wielding Viking who is utterly bored with village life. After chugging his fifth chocolate milk with extra chocolate syrup and feeling rather feisty, he is cleverly coerced by a disguised Odin to the inevitable call to adventure in the form of a map. So, off he goes haphazardly avoiding the worst imaginable perilous pitfalls as his heroic destiny unfolds around him in the most unintentional of ways.
Ben Bender has a knack for writing to a younger audience as Beorn is the embodiment of a daydreaming boy mentally lost in magical realms and creatures, only he actually gets to visit them. The narrative style takes me back to reading Asterix as a kid, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to hear that it was a significant influence on Bender. With a cartoonish artistic style that marries Skottie Young’s I Hate Fairyland with Jeff Smith’s Bone, everything from leviathans to two headed trolls are rendered with a simple visual ease. My one gripe is how transitions are handled in the story as you move through areas of very heavy exposition to flipping through several pages without any which makes for a very abrupt stop/start read journey. The deft if straightforward color work helps to balance and smooth that out though with lighter panel densities.
This book is simply delightful. I really wish this had been around to read to my son when he was growing up. It feels like a Sunday strip. I often thought of Calvin and Hobbes while reading it and have zero issues recommending it for younger readers which is not to say that it wouldn’t be enjoyed broadly because it’s one of those books with a universal timelessness about it. It’s a buoyant and upbeat journey so grab your wooden sword, slurp down a draft of chocolate courage, and settle in for some fun.
TOMORROW GIRL, 32 pages - Published by Antarctic Press, (cc/ @JDunn)
Follow the adventures of the Maid of Might, TOMORROW GIRL!
Story and Art by Antarctic Press
Comments from Shane @comicbooksquares:
A traditional comic book that everyone can enjoy.
The comic book landscape is filled with dark books, books with violence, books with blood, books with cursing. Tomorrow Girl is refreshing in that it contains none of those things, except maybe some good old school comic book style battles.
We’re introduced to our lead character, Tomorrow Girl and we’re immediately tossed into the action, which never lets up during the entire book. Over the story, I get the sense that many of the little story elements will reappear in later issues, except with a slight twist.
The art by Ben Dunn (who also happens to be the writer and creator) is bright and colorful, just like you hope a comic book should be. Each character is well defined and it's clear who each person is. I’m excited to see where Ben takes this character. If you’re looking for a bright fun book to cleanse your pallet of some of the darker material you’ve been reading, I’d give this one a try. Or if you’re looking for something to read with your kids, this one is perfect.
Dragon Of God, 53 pages - Published by VaunDoom, (cc/ @Vaundoom)
HIgh Fantasy story of the City of Dusk, and young boy and a stirring fate soon to come
Story and Art by VaunDoom
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
Who doesn't like stories about dragons and demons? Dragon of Gods starts out with wonderful little snippet of prose to set the tone and then continues, showing a mysterious young man with am eerie looking sword. He isn't alone though, as shortly a demon interrupts and a fight ensues. Things aren't as they seem as this world is different. It's overrun by demons!
The only city safe is called Dusk, and we get to meet the Prince of this land, talking with his advisor. It's really hard to not feel sympathetic for the prince, a sick father and so much pressure to keep everyone safe! However, the demon's ARE up to something and soon the Prince's worries are justified! I won't spoil more than that, but I suggest anyone who loves some good ole fashioned demon vs humanity stories read Dragon of God!
One of the other things that really stood out to me is the great character and prop designs. It's hard to be creative and stay original, but I really enjoyed the designs, of the creatures and characters. They feel original! Another thing that really stood out was that the creator included backgrounds, perspective and dynamic paneling. It's hard to draw backgrounds and not have it overshadow the characters or underwhelm the reader. I feel that VaunDoom did a great job staying in the middle here. I very much look forward to a new update and it's on my personal reading list!
The Pale, 40 pages - Published by Fab-Ray Comics, (cc/ @jayfab)
Agent Franklin Ink is not acting on behalf of the FBI when he tracks down a killer to small town Arizona. He teams up with the local Sheriff and crew-- who have their own problems to deal with. Filled with drama, mystery, romance, betrayal, and the supernatural-- Agent Ink isn't the only one keeping secrets.
Story and Art by Fab-Ray Comics
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
The Pale holds a special place in my heart as I've known the creator for some time. I have been so excited to give this comic a feature as it's one of my personal favorites! It deserves way more reads than it's getting. Who doesn't love a good and spooky crime story, anyway!?
Agent Franklin Link AKA Agent Fink is your run of the mill man working his job, or it appears that way! Something is clearly bugging him when he leaves the city for a small town called Rocket Ridge. Soon, though, he's got more to worry about when a body is found outside the town, the killer he's been tracking is still lurking! This isn't your average murder and it's clear these odd white stones are connected somehow.
The Pale has all the elements I love in a story, mystery, supernatural elements, crime, and a handful of drama. One aspect about the art that I'd like to point out is the use of faces. Some faces are drawn detailed and some aren't, and that's VERY intentional. It's a very clever detail the Fab-Ray has added to their comic to make it feel that much more immersive. Why that is done, I won't spoil here, but when I realized why, I couldn't help but applaud the creator for this seemingly small detail. It will affect the story in lots of ways as you'll soon see. Not to mention the art? Amazing backgrounds and environments. I've been to this area of the USA many times, and it feels right on par with what you can expect!
Please give The Pale a read, anyone interested in crime, especially supernatural crime would love this story! As always, I'm looking forward to more. I've started over from the beginning, and I'm enjoying my re-read. Fanatastic work team!
That's all for now, but we'll have another set of Fresh Friday reading recommendations next week. If you're looking for more recommendations, make sure to opt-in for our weekly reading list email! You can find that in your User Profile Notification settings. You can also browse through our Featured Comics news section!
Check out more amazing stuff from @Comic Book Squares, @byrononeal and @ArtCrumbs below.
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Byron O'Neal
ArtCrumbs
jayfab 2 years ago
:) Thanks for the shoutout! (took me a few months--but better late than never!)