I hadn’t been in a comic book store for years and years, but I was with my brother, who is a serious collector, recently and we popped into Fourth World Comics on Long Island, which had been one of our two go-to places for a geek fix when we were kids. (The other place has long since gone out of business, but that’s where I met my longtime fan acquaintance Glenn Hauman: he used to work there. Glenn is now hip-deep in the mysterious ComicMix, about which I am sworn to secrecy. Yes, it’s the Vast Geek Conspiracy at work...)
As I was wandering the hallowed aisles of Fourth World, I was sent tumbling back to my childhood, when I could be lost for hours in those deliciously oversized British magazines about science fiction -- Dalek pinups! -- and dice with too many sides and strange toys from Japan. And then this caught my eye:
And I was in love.
Now, I have frequently been seduced by the painted, full-color cover of a comic, only to be disappointed when I open it up and discover that the interior art consists of black-and-white line drawings. But the six-issue Mouse Guard, with story and art by David Petersen, is as gorgeous on the inside as the cover promises:
Petersen’s backgrounds are lush and his characters are beautifully expressive and the whole package is passing lovely. I’d have bought all six issues, but No. 5 was sold out, so I bought 1 through 4 and 6 (and have since sent my brother on a quest to find No. 5), because I didn’t want to wait for the collected omninus that will be published this spring.
And there’s another six-issue series on its way, too. I can’t wait.
The story is about the sort of police force that protects the borders of the mouse cities (the year is 1152 AD) and how there may be a traitor in their midst. It’s like Beatrix Potter meets Robin Hood, and I can’t recommend it highly enough, even if you’re not usually a comic book fan. I’m not, but I was thoroughly charmed by Mouse Guard.
(Technorati tags: Mouse Guard)
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