Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Tellos: Maiden Voyage

The more I read from Dezago's Tellos universe, the more I like it. The characters are all likeable, the tales are fun little fantasy romps, there's enough interconnectedness between stories to make fans happy yet it's not continuity laden, it's all ages and still fun (which is very hard to pull off), and you get to read about talking animals. How could anyone not love all that is Tellos? Well, I suppose a satanic, drug-dealing, reality tv watching, Marvel zombie might not enjoy it, but I don't think that there are too many of those types out there... or are there?

Anyways, this one-shot tells three different stories--2 of them in the traditional comics medium and the third is a short prose story with a couple of small illustrations. The first story deals with how Serra first came to be a pirate. Originally she was to be wed to a prince of a neighboring nation, but as the ship she was being transported on ran upon rough times, Serra won the hearts of the men and they wouldn't let her be wed away when she didn't wish to be. This tale is pretty much a retelling of the section of the Odyssey where Odysseus and his men encounter the Sirens, except in this here Tellos universe Serra saves the day by turning the Sirens against each other by asking to be executed by the prettiest one.

The second story is a cute, little one about Koj and Jarek's encounter with some forest fairies. Since they don't pay the toll for passing through the woods, the fairies steal Koj and Jarek's clothes. To get them back, Koj (the tiger-man) uses his tail to fool the fairies into thinking a snake was going to attack them. It was a fun, short tale that was drawn by a quadrapalegic who goes by the name "thor". He drew the entire thing with a paintbrush in his mouth. I was amazed! The art was on par with many current indie comics and way better than I could ever do with my hands!

The prose tale recounts Serra and Rik spending a day together after Serra's boyfriend (who was also Rik's thieving partner) had died. Eventually their day of mourning turns into a bar fight, which leads to a bonding between Serra and Rik--a first since before that time they had never much liked each other.

All in all, for the $6 this one-shot cost, it's worth the money. You'll enjoy it if you're a kid, if you're a teenager, if you're an adult, or even if you're retirement age. Somehow Dezago has the talent to create stories that can be appreciated and enjoyed by all age groups.

Ratings
Art: 3.75
Story: 4
Overall: 4


No comments: