Amelia Sky #1

Amelia Sky is written by Jermaine M. Boyd, illustrated by Gywnn Tavares, lettered by Aw's Zakk Saam and published through Kickstarter.  I've gotten terrible comics off Kickstarter before and I've also gotten some great ones, but never have I gotten a comic that had such a good marketing campaign that it would make some movies jealous. With the mysterious "A" popping up on my Facebook feed and the ever present question "Who is Amelia Sky?" I was so excited to finally find out the answer to that question when I got my hands on issue #1 of Amelia Sky.

Amelia Sky begins with a large scale protest taking place, in New York in the year 2021, as a couple run into a nearby building with their unconscious daughter, Amelia. As the couple argue about their next course of action the military opens fire on the gathered crowd causing the building to begin to collapse around them separating them from the still unconscious Amelia. Amelia awakes a month later in a now abandoned and snow covered New York with no memories or idea of where to head next until she comes across Ace, a large dog, who seems to know exactly what to do when they are cornered by horrible monsters known as Shriekers. As Amelia and Ace flea they are rescued by Elanor, Ace's owner, who informs Amelia that she missed the end of the world.

Amelia Sky is a BEAUTIFUL comic and I am currently completely obsessed with Gwynn Tavares' art style. The colour pallet is extremely dulled almost to the point of being black and white with only the odd hues of reds, yellows, purples and greens standing out among the almost greyscale images. The panels take on a misty almost dream like quality while perfectly capturing the eerie silence of an abandoned world that makes you feel an uncomfortable shiver run up your spine. While still amazing on paper Amelia Sky seems to have been designed to be read digitally with the added aid of a lit screen to make the panels clearer and the colours brighter. So while I always love my paper comics I recommend grabbing this one digitally to truly appreciate it or just do what I do and get both.

Amelia herself is, so far, mostly a mystery in regards to who or what she is but what is clear is that she is a frightened yet determined girl as shown by her dedication to finding parents that she doesn't really remember despite all the dangers she knows she will face. Elanor, despite her sweet demeanor, is unexpectedly well experienced with firearms and clearly has some kind of military experience, which hints at a very interesting backstory, and is willing to put herself in very serious danger to help this young girl she has just met. Elanor seems like she will continue to be a great support and guardian to Amelia through the comic and I hope to see their relationship continue throughout the series. The character I love the most is Ace and if anything happens to that beautiful dog I don't think I'll get over it.

Issue #1 of Amelia Sky isn't revealing any secrets just yet and is clearly the start of what is going to be a fantastic post-apocalyptic/Sci-Fi series that I can't wait to get my hands on.

I give Amelia Sky Issue #1 4.5 out of 5 Aces.

Get your own copy of Amelia Sky here.

Deathgift #1 - My life is so dark man

Deathgift #1

Deathgift is an independent comic written by Scott Duckett, art by Headkutter and published by Overdark Comics. I back a lot of comic books from crowd funding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo as it is a great way to support independent creators both local and international and because I enjoy Internet shopping that I don't need to actually pay for for up to 30 days. I've picked up some of my favourite comics from crowd funding campaigns such as Carmen and Fly The Colour Fantastica and a few average comics but I'm pretty easy to please (especially with creator owned comics) so I've never really felt annoyed that I spent money until I received my copy of Deathgift.

The cover is actually pretty cool though

Deathgift begins with an introduction from our main character (who is never named) explaining that he is immortal but the luster of living forever wore off hundreds of years ago and a lot of dark things about how life is meaningless. The introduction continues to set the scene explaining that he is in Metatron a city that was built around a maximum security prison after it was taken over by the prisoners. The main character wakes up in an alley, after being shot in the head, and begins running from the police after a shots fired call leading them on a high speed chase in his car, The Commander.

The spread of the car is pretty good which makes me think the rest of the comic was written around it

The art of Deathgift is not bad but is so dark its actually hard to see whats going on so much so that I feel like this was intended to be digital format and read on a screen with a back light. There is actually a panel that has a half deleted text box in it and one thing that I really dislike is a "finished" product that has mistakes like that as it just makes the whole thing look unprofessional. There is a fantastic two page spread in the center of the comic of the car, The Commander, and seems like the entire comic was made around doing this spread of the car.

I hope that half deleted text box didn't have any important dialogue

The only thing we know about the main character is that he hates the corrupt world that he is forced to continue living in yet seems to continue making it worse by committing the very crimes he seems to despise and blows up a bunch of cops, the people that are trying to make the world better.

I'm very forgiving, easily pleased and usually when I'm not a fan I tend to just think "ehh not my cup of tea" but I really don't see anyone except 14 year olds who's parents "just don't get them you know" actually enjoying Deathgift. The introduction at the beginning just seems like it was trying to include as many grotesque words as possible with one of the first sentences referring to the world as a "puss filled scab of despair". For me the whole thing just seems, for lack of a better word, emo. For a comic advertised "A story of an immortal lost soul whose life won't let him go. Packed with dark humor, violence, stunning visuals and gripping stories." I found it lacking in everything except the violence.

I give Deathgift 1 out of 5 THE PAIN...'s

My life is nothing but pain man.

 

Lady Castle Issue #1

Ladycastle Issue #1

I've always loved medieval fantasy. It may have started with The Fellowship Of The Ring, it may have started with my grandmother's love of the royal family and English history, or perhaps there is just something appealing to everyone about riding horses, fighting monsters and saving princesses. Doesn't being the hero appeal to everyone in some way? To be the one that slays the beast, defeats the bad guy and saves the princess? I was always a little disappointed as a child in the lack of women running around killing dragons and fighting with swords and that's what drew me to Ladycastle. Ladycastle is written by Delilah S. Dawson, Illustrated by Ashley A. Woods, Lettered by Jim Campbell and published by Boom!.

Princess Aeve is the eldest child of King Mancastle and sings of her life locked away in a tower while her father searches for a suitable prince for her to marry. She has been locked away to be kept pure since she was twelve with a promise that she can leave once she is married to a prince she has never met. As the King searches for a suitable prince he takes all of the men in the castle with him, leaving the women in the castle alone to follow the rules set by the King. One day the last knight Sir Riddik returns to the castle and informs the women that the King and all the men have been eaten by a dragon and that a curse has been placed on the castle and its inhabitants. Upon hearing this tragic news Sir Riddik agrees to take upon the mantle of King but the Lady of the lake has other ideas and names Merinor, the blacksmith's wife, instead.

Often when attempting to portray female characters as strong and independent there seems to be a thought that all femininity must be removed from the character, implying that femininity is weak. This is why I love the designs of many of the characters in Lady Castle, as it doesn't follow this trope at all. While some characters are designed with a more masculine style many of the characters still wear dresses and do traditionally feminine things such as making their new flag a pink unicorn. Feminism is about choice, be it choosing to cut your hair short and dress in a masculine style or wear your hair long and wearing the daintiest feminine dress possible. This is something Ladycastle gets very right, in that presenting yourself in a masculine or feminine way doesn't make you less of a strong and independent woman.

time to knight up or shut up

The character I find most interesting is Princess Gwyneff. She is a tomboy and takes full advantage of her freedom while expecting her sister to give up the same things she takes for granted. Gwyneff is neither malicious nor spiteful, however she is perfectly okay with encouraging her sister to marry a man she has never met simply because it would stop her father forcing her to do the same. This is a perfect example of people that "just want feminists to stop complaining" but are completely willing to take advantage of the freedoms this "complaining" has accomplished for them. Gwyneff is not bad just misguided in her thinking that things will get better if others make sacrifices so she doesn't have too.

Ladycastle is an fun comic with an important message and manages to maintain an interesting story while not diluting the ideas of feminism and sisterhood. This is a great comic for little girls to be shown that they can be whoever and whatever they want and a great comic for everyone else who enjoys the occasional shout of "Girl Power!".

I give Lady Castle 3.5 out of 5 magical swords

Find out more about Ladycastle here.