Everyone out there is chasing something, like revenge or freedom. Or maybe, they are the ones being chased?! Today's Fresh Friday Features is all about the chase, the hunter and the hunted. Our exciting line-up will make you want even more!
This week, Ben 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 - Daughters of Albion: Detective Shaw investigates a double murder where the victims don’t appear to be human. A powerful demon goes on a bloodthirsty quest for vengeance.
- Graphic Novel - System Earth: Volume 1 follows Nelson; a man fighting to get his body back whilst also dealing with Robot terrorists, a maniacal leader and a mutant test-tube creature trying to figure out who he is and how to escape!
- Manga - City of the Sun - Rilind, a zombie, aims to help those cast out from society using a peculiar power- Magic "strings" which can heal wounds. However, his world begins to change when he makes the unlikely choice to save a vampire in distress.
- Webcomic - Beneath the Camphor Tree: Eun-ah is a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to earn a living as hired protection. The Crowned Prince wants none other than for her to be his personal bodyguard! Trouble is, no one in the palace, least of all the crown prince, knows she's a woman,
Now that we've met our four fresh picks, let's dig into each of them!
Daughters of Albion, 69 pages - Published by Immortal London, (cc/ @Immortal-London)
Reclusive scavenger Hashani has disturbing dreams of creatures appearing in the streets of London. Detective Shaw investigates a double murder where the victims don’t appear to be human. A powerful demon goes on a bloodthirsty quest for vengeance. Discover a different London in the critically acclaimed Daughters of Albion.
Story and Art by Immortal London
Comments from Shane @Comic Book Squares:
In the “Letters of Albion” section at the end of the second issue of this comic series, a fan wrote, “I can see this as a Netflix series or film.” And I wholeheartedly agree!
“Daughters of Albion,” which takes place in a futuristic London, follows young hacktivist Hashani and grizzled Detective Shaw as they both try to uncover what’s behind mysterious events that seem to defy both reality and time. This expertly mixed world science fiction and fantasy at times reminded me of the work of Tad Williams in its intricate yet well-paced world building.
The entire team behind this series deserves praise for the cinematic quality of both the storytelling and artwork. Denis Phan and Beanie Aurora White’s writing allows us to be quickly immersed into this not-quite-dystopian London, with its overly powerful corporations and brutal secret agencies. But what is lurking behind the shadows? This is expertly teased in each issue so that we’re left wanting more.
We are also immediately endeared to protagonist Hashani and her robo-sidekick Bee. She’s an idealistic genius whose family loves her even if they don’t always get her. She’s got both the snark and the heart that make for a hero you can’t help but root for.
By issue 2, we still don’t know much about Detective Shaw beyond his drive to do the right thing. But the creative team leaves visual breadcrumbs about who he might have been before we meet him. This helps create sympathy for the hard-nosed detective and makes us wonder why he’s so cynical yet driven.
And finally, the artwork! Roy Allan Martinez and Fahriza Kamaputra join forces to create a London that is both recognizable and alien. A full-page spread in issue 2 really highlights this: shoppers walk hurriedly near Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain while police drones hover near a holographic police officer surrounded by the words “We protect you from yourselves.” And amongst the fray is a giant ancient spirit searching for its prey.
Only two issues are out, but this world feels fully polished and complete, even with all of its mysteries to be solved. I cannot wait to read more!
System Earth: Volume 1, 49 pages - Published by Tom Garden, (cc/ @tgarden)
The first book of the System Earth Series - NOW ONLINE! Volume 1 follows Nelson; a man fighting to get his body back whilst also dealing with Robot terrorists, a maniacal leader and a mutant test-tube creature with half a banana and a box of raisins for a brain.
Story and Art by Tom Garden
Comments from @byrononeall:
Heavy metal mayhem, that should be the marquee that introduces you to Tom Garden’s System Earth: Deathbattle at Woodhill Mall where you are immediately dropped into a gladiatorial dystopian deathmatch where robots square off against each other as an array of humans and humanoids look on from the arena stands.
Tom’s visuals feel immediately familiar and this is what sucked me in initially. There’s a definite Mignola influence in the linework and characteristic heavier shadow blocking, but it’s mixed with measures of Jamie Hewlett’s Tank Girl and Rob Schrab’s Scud: The Disposable Assassin. My only complaint is wishing it had coloring added in to round out the presentation but textures and gradients are used cleverly with the monochrome.
As for the story, who is upstart challenger Lightning Nelson who deftly weaves and smashes through the competition like a linebacker who just downed a case of Red Bulls. Can he possibly defeat the champ and what is it about him that elevates him above the competition? If you read the synopsis you might have a clue already, spoiler, Nelson is a human. He’s trapped and being forced to control the robot in the arena. Will he be able to free himself and exact revenge on his cruel captors? Who the hell is he anyway? If that’s not enough to suck you in, there’s also the promise of “a mutant test-tube creature with half a banana and a box of raisins for a brain.” Hyperbole or reality? Doesn’t matter this is a fast paced future fracas sure to be about half a bubble off of plumb, and I’m up for it.
City of the Sun, 340 pages - Published by OMI/SQUIGGS, (cc/ @Topnugg)
In a crumbling and dystopian Lousiana, Rilind, a zombie, aims to help those cast out from society using a peculiar power- Magic "strings" which can heal wounds. However, his world begins to change when he makes the unlikely choice to save a vampire in distress. Rilind soon learns he's way in over his head when he learns she has a bounty on hers! Reads Left to Right. Updates monthly!
Story and Art by OMI/SQUIGGS
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
An absolutely awesome manga, I really enjoyed the characters in this one. They are as unique as their powers! Each character in here is a little different, some are revealed right away and some as you go. It's got a healthy dose of lore and mythology added, which made it all the more enjoyable.
I think Rilind, our main character is the most interesting of all, naturally. A Zombie, one of many types of undead in this series, he has a really calm nature about him that is comforting in a world that seems so harsh and vicious. That said I absolutely love Aven, a Strigoi. She's such a funny and unpredictable character. There are lots of small moments (one involving a toad) that I couldn't help but laugh at. She's immature, but in the funny sort of way. I absolutely adore her character.
The story does get serious, as psychics and other supernaturals are one Rilind and Aven's tail. I've only read the first four chapters so far, but this is definitely on my weekend reading list for more! I can't wait to see where the story goes.
Beneath the Camphor Tree, 456 pages - Published by byleahgracie, (cc/ @byleahgracie)
Eun-ah is a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to earn a living as hired protection. When she by chance saves a young nobleman from being robbed by some crooks, she quickly learns that the young nobleman was actually the Crown Prince of Joseon, and he wants none other than for her to be his personal bodyguard! Trouble is, no one in the palace, least of all the crown prince, knows she's a woman, so she has to keep pretending to be a man...
Story and Art by byleahgracie
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
Starts out adorable and quickly turns into some hardcore action! I loved the slower and cute introduction of our main characters. It's nice to seem them as children first and have the background now for the main story. The other thing that really caught my attention was the great use of the vertical format, not just in pacing/timing, but in the environments and backgrounds. A lot of comic artists seem to shy away from backgrounds, but byleahgracie steps up and really uses them to their advantage here. Fantastic job on that!
As for the story itself, we get to see how these two originally met and at Episode 13, it escalates dramatically! There is quite the tragedy, the betrayl! It gets really good but I don't want to spoil it for you. Eun-ah winds up protecting the Crownd Prince himself. It's an exciting and dramatic story, lots of cute moments spread throughout to lesson the serious tone. The art is beautiful and clean, lovely colors and atmosphere to go along with such a story. I also need to catch up to the end (currently at release 16) and I'm looking forward to more. Great work!
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.
Comic Book Squares
Byron O'Neal
ArtCrumbs