Publisher: Boom! Studios
Story: Delilah S. Dawson
Pencils: Matias Basla
Inks: Matias Basla
Colors: Matias Basla
Letters: Jim Campbell
Cover: Miguel Mercado
Sparrowhawk #1 launches a new five-issue mini-series that is best described as a combination of historical fiction, fairy tales, and the classic story-telling trope of the girl who finds herself transported against her will to a magical world and needs to find her way home again (in the vein of Wizard of Oz). All of this is accomplished with a sense of dread, urgency, horror, mystery, and wonder, with a strong female protagonist and a visually engaging world designed by Dawson and Basla. While the title does not appear to carry a rating, based on this first issue, it seems entirely appropriate for young teens or even more mature tweens, and that’s a huge plus from my standpoint.
A lot of fantasy books have been coming out recently, and I’ve reviewed a few here, but Sparrowhawk takes a more traditional approach, utilizing the classic Seelie and Unseelie Courts of Faerie as its fantasy basis. That, combined with the setting of a mid-19th century English countryside, help to make Sparrowhawk stand apart from other titles, and also help make it more approachable in a way that some other fantasy books cannot.
An issue with some fantasy stories is the reliance on too much world-building at the expense of characterization. Writers can become too attached to the rich worlds of their creation and use their stories as an excuse to showcase those worlds as opposed to telling compelling stories that just happen to take place in a fantasy milieu. That’s not a problem with Sparrowhawk, which kicks off on the first page introducing the main character, Artemisia, and illustrating her personality immediately via a conversation with her younger half-sister while visiting the fresh grave of yet another half-sister. Artmesia has a protective, older-sister mentality to her younger sibling, but the dialogue indicates that she shares little of the values or beliefs of the rest of her family.
This insight is explained shortly after as we learn that Artemisia is the product of an indiscretion of her father. She was raised with the rest of his family at his family estate, but often treated poorly by the lady of the house. This poor treatment extends to having Artmesia act as a hand-maiden to her eldest half-sister. There is a bit of social commentary here as well, given that Artemesia also has darker skin than any of the rest of the family, something which the lady of the house goes out of her way to mention frequently. While slavery was abolished in England in 1833, eighteen years before Sparrowhawk takes place, its shadow still lingers over the story and characters.
Artemisia is a fully-realized character with an enthralling background and personality, but so far, she is the only fully-developed character in the story. Just as we are learning more about her, the story takes a dramatic shift as she is pulled into the world of Faerie in a confusing sequence of images that help showcase the chaotic and alien nature of the Faerie kingdoms. This is not a peaceful, fun, or cute world, but a horrific and violent one full of creatures Artemisia doesn’t understand or trust. The most interesting of the inhabitants of Faerie so far is a strange creature named Crispin, who seems to be serving as Artemisia’s guide, but clearly has an ulterior, and most likely sinister, motive.
Basla’s bright, colorful art and non-standard panel arrangements are the perfect showcase for the unfamiliar world of Faerie and its strange inhabitants, but its his work in the real world at the beginning of the story that help to set the stage and make this a truly special book. Small details, from the angle of the sister’s headstone at the grave site, to showing the roof of the manor house in disrepair as foreshadowing to learn that the family is in debt, to a humorous scene as Artemisia walks down a long hallway hung with portraits of the family (excluding her, of course), all help to convey the world in which Artemisia lives much better than multiple lines of narration would have done.
Sparrowhawk #1 is a fantastic start to a new mini-series with a strong lead character, a compelling setting, and a mysterious, captivating premise.
Martin Thomas
martin@comicattack.net
