Welcome to the world of Valendor, as shown in Sky Pirates. This title was a runner-up in the Small Press Idol competition, and subsequently picked up by Free Lunch Comics. In this first issue, the Traveler has disappeared. She is reported to be a prisoner on a pirate ship that's currently in port at Croix. It's up to Tobin, Captain of the Rogue's Revenge to rescue the Traveler. He is paired with his ex-wife Gearz on a rescue mission, and his trusty aide Bryan is with him too. More complications arise with the plan when Tobin realises he has to face his dark past if he is to accept the job.
The story is amazing. It's reminiscent of medieval times but set in the sky with wicked pirates and many different races. At the start of the comic, we see a partial map of Valendor, and we can see that it stretches over several islands, so the world is indeed quite big. I can see that the writer has created a believable world that relies heavily on commerce, and there's a clearly established civilisation with piracy being unlawful in some places. This issue seems to have started in a different time from what I read in the previous issue, it's instead based when Gearz and Tobin end up working together, which I'm guessing is before what happens in #0.
The art is really impressive. I love the way the artist has captured the essence of fantasy with the careful detail to clothing, setting and the ships that fly in the air. I love the character design, each of the main characters have their own unique look that matched their personalities. The artist also uses different angles well, so you get a really good sense of the action that's happening through the panels. My favourite page has to be the double page spread with Tobin and Shyni because the artist Brian Brinlee uses amazing gray shades that make it stand out more, and the scene seems executed perfectly in that one page. Brinlee also drew careful details in the right places in black and white that after reading it, you don't notice it's not even in colour.
I love fantasy, and I love seeing it in a visual medium even more. Sky Pirates is a book that I think will really appeal to anyone who is a fan of Pirates of the Carribbean movies and if you've always wanted to see some swashbuckling piracy in the air, then this will be an added bonus. Given that there are a few violent scenes, I wouldn't recommend this for young children. There are some amazing pin-ups of characters from Sky Pirates and a page with the Pirate Code of Conduct rules to read too. |
