One of the best new comics of this year is David Peterson’s Mouse Guard. A bi-monthly, six issue story, it centers around the Guard, a group of “escorts, pathfinders, weather watchers, scouts, and body guards.” In the first issue three Guards, Lieam, Kenzie, and Saxon, were sent to find a missing rice merchant. And they do find him, dead, but in his cart they also discover that he was carrying plans to their base. Exactly who was spying on them, and why, are the questions that drive this story.
Issue two picks up these questions, but from the perspective of two completely different Guards, Sadie and Conrad. Conrad has gone missing. He hasn’t answered any messages in a while, and Sadie has been sent to find out why. Like the first issue, Peterson’s storytelling is very tight. There’s no fat at all. But his economy in storytelling doesn’t get in the way of establishing the characters and the world they inhabit.
Of course, what is most noticeable about the Guard is that they are all mice. Hence the name. Stories starring mice are nothing new. In comics they go all the way back to Ignatz and Mickey. But Peterson’s mice actually look like mice. The world they inhabit, the Guard, is anthropomorphized, of course, but the mice and other animals look and, as much as possible, behave in a natural manner. That does mean that the mice often look a lot alike. When I first saw the previews for this issue, I thought Sadie was Saxon, both wear red; or maybe Lieam, both are “redfurs”. But there are differences in appearance and in personality, and they are there for anyone paying attention.
 Obviously this is an all-ages comic, but its more than that. It’s a great, intelligently written, beautifully drawn comic. Of course, that’s been said of other all-ages comics. Like children’s novels, all-ages comics labour under the bias that if they’re written for kids, they can’t be as good as those written for an adult or general audience. Surely they must have been dumbed down. With comics it can be a two-fold problem – it’s a comic and it’s a comic for kids. So lets forget that this comic can be enjoyed by readers of all ages and appreciate it for its many other strengths. Peterson’s writing, as I’ve said, is sharp, both in terms of pacing and characterization. One of the things that impressed me from the start is how well the mice worked as soldiers. The way they interact, address and solve their problems lends the Guard a real credibility. And its artistic strength is obvious, particularly in this issue, which has comparatively little dialogue. Like his writing, Peterson is able to spell out a character’s personality very quickly, in a simple gesture or response.
Mouse Guard is sure to be remembered as one of 2006’s breakout titles. Reprints of issue one are available and I wouldn’t be surprised if a second printing of this issue is coming. It’s a title more and more people are getting excited about. Check it out. You’ll quickly see why. |
