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Slightly Exaggerated #1
Publisher: To Infinity Studios
Story: Curtis Clow
Art: Pius Bak
Letters: Toben Racicot
Variant Cover: Jo Mi-Gyeong

I first encountered Curtis Clow covering his crowdfunded coming-of-age fantasy adventure series Beastlands back in 2019. I knew then that Clow and his To Infinity Studios imprint have a knack for crafting wildly imaginative fantasy worlds with engaging characters and some nuanced storytelling. When he reached out last month about his next series, Slightly Exaggerated, it immediately piqued my interest. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts didn’t allow me to have this review ready by the February 8 Kickstarter launch for Issue #2; not that they needed any help with the exposure, 10 days in and Clow and company have handily exceeded their goal to produce the next issue. 

So I’m a little late to the party. Nonetheless, from the moment I read Slightly Exaggerated #1, I knew that I had to get this review on comicattack.net. I’ve been fortunate to cover some really strong independent offerings, and this book’s lush fantasy aesthetic and affable protagonist definitely belong on that list. Clow and co-creator/artist Pius Bak have crafted a thematically dense and gorgeous new world where archeologist and treasure hunter Mia squares off against opposing religious factions as a mysterious illness slowly and inevitably claims her life. I cannot stress enough how apt the Kickstarter descriptors are in terms of tone and tenor. It truly delivers on the Indiana Jones/Uncharted meets Studio Ghibli claim from the original Kickstarter.

Mia’s devil-may-care outlook is a byproduct of her progressive illness, and the predicament presents a sort of existential paradox for the character. Knowing that her time is short, Mia intends to live life to the fullest whenever possible. This ethos often has the predictable consequence of putting her life, and that of her more calculating amphibian partner Winston, in jeopardy. But through this trope, Clow begins to layer the core of this character. From the opening pages, we can see that she exhibits a tenuous morality. She has no qualms about the grave-robbing connotation of her chosen profession and little care for the impact of her actions on the religious sects seeking the same artifacts. She unapologetically flouts the law of the land, indignant in her resistance to dogmatic authoritarianism. 

Great characters are rarely paragons of virtue, but more often eminently flawed personalities. In their inexorable reckonings, we usually find the most engaging drama and catharsis. Slightly Exaggerated takes this formula and melds it with a visually striking, action-packed universe full of fantastical adventure. From the first issue, which is easily on par with work produced by some of the more established publishers we cover, we learn Mia’s introspective treasure hunter will cross paths with swashbuckling cultists, fascist theocrats, and a host of unique characters, both human and anthropomorphized. It’s a rich and undeniably intriguing effort well worth your attention, so much so that I’ve patronized the Kickstarter, even after the goal was reached, for my own ticket to the adventure.

Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net