Vögelein # 1 & 2

Posted: Wednesday, June 19, 2002
By: Darren Schroeder

Creator(s): Jane Irwin
Publishers: Fiery Studios (Self Published)
From: USA
Price: $3.00 (US)

The things that makes all those old fables and fairy tales long time favorites is the way their simple plots present the audience with problems we can identify with (horrible step parents, poverty. Arrogance, peas under the mattress) and show use way of dealing with them. The first two issues of this five part series contains several themes which we all have to deal with.

Vögelein, the title character is an ancient wind up fairy of great delicacy who finds her shelf alone in the big city after here elderly guardian passes away. She's in trouble, because her clockwork mechanism needs winding up nearly every day or she will cease to be. She starts looking for help, and in desperation approaches a young computer geek and college student. He has just broken up with his latest girlfriend, and is described as have a controlling personality. Having someone who relies on him might suit him, but will it work out in the long run?

During the course of the two issues we are introduced to some of the other inhabitants of the city. Ezrael is the elderly street cleaner who sees more of what goes on than most other people, and there's a true faerie who despises human kind for what they have done to his kind.

Jane illustrates here story with some appealing black and white painted artwork that is of a high standard. It successfully mixes a cartoonish character construction with subtle textures and shading that brush work allows. The reproduction is of a high standard in both issues, with my only reservation being that the artwork comes out quite subdued without any deep blacks. This might suit the story as most of the events seem to take place at night, but tends to flatten the effectiveness of Jane's work.

The dialogue in this book flows easily from panel to panel, explaining to the reader what is going on without becoming to wordy. It add the final touch to a book that is fascinating to read, building up a multi layered world were fairies hind in the shadows, viewing and commenting on the strange and dangerous activities of humans in thoughtful and evocative ways. Like all good fables, this book has much to keep the reader thinking as they wait to see if things end happily ever after.

In a Word: Intricate.



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