Cyril in the False Lands

Posted: Wednesday, September 24, 2003
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Cyril in the False Lands Creator(s): Jason Neuman
Publishers: Self Published
From: USA
Price: ??

The saga of the little dead boy continues as he ventures into a new part of the afterlife. There are numerous creatures in this realm, and many dangers for Cyril. Soon he finds himself held captive for impersonating the Dark Master. What judgement a-waits?

Jason's storytelling mixes lighthearted characters with some grim topics in this issue. The sprits that Cyril meets have experienced violence and loss, and the little ghost has to try and make sense of the things he sees.

The book is illustrated in the style of a children's picture book with the test floating over the images without speech balloons. This presentation means we are drawn into the naive world of Cyril and find the serious aspects of book more effective. Some of the reproduction is messy with rough cropping on the edges and some patchiness in the grey tones. Perhaps a higher contrast on digital copier might have fixed that.

This issue relies a lot on the readers having seen the earlier books, so new readers might be a bit lost. Even so the charm of Jason's writing and the mysterious nature of Cyril’s adventures in the underworld still offers a worthwhile read.

In a Word: Unearthly.



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