The first volume of the all-ages comic series "The Far End Chronicles" was serialised in a magazine in Finland and later published online. The first volume is about two scientists Basil Jodorowsky and Dr Elvin Klein from Earth who have managed to open a portal to another dimension, and they are now living in a place appropriately titled "The Far End".. After many years of living in The Far End, the two friends decide to make the greatest invention ever, artificial life in the form of a young girl called Lili. Since Lili was a successful experiment, the pair make a trip to Mesta, the capital of Far End, to try and present Lili in order to get funding for their work. But things don't quite go as planned, especially when Lili chooses to run off, and they are forced to give chase to her while waiting for a friend to meet up with them.
There's a really strong cartoony feel to this story. The characters are well developed, so you have a clear idea of their personalities from the beginning. It's also clear that Lili, the inventors creation is very important to them in a scientific and also personal way. They view Lili as their great-granddaughter. Basil and Elvin age considerably slower in the Far End than they did on Earth, so they have plenty of time to invent new things. The writer Miha Rinne is slowly building up the individual characters, so we begin to understand who they are and why they are so determined to have Lili succeed in the tasks they set her to do. Often in the story, we see creatures behaving oddly, and it's a gentle reminder that this is not based on Earth, but a place entirely in another dimension with its own set of rules. Rinne is free to run about with his own rules for the place called Far End, and so he can introduce a number of ordinarily absurd fantasy elements without it being too out of place. It adds to the bizarre charm of the story. There's a lot of steampunk elements in the story as well as amazing fantasy creatures too. This story is not without humour either, as there are often moments where Lilli is learning about the world, and her innocence is obvious.
The art style matches the story as it is light-hearted, whimsical and magical as well. The creator also gives us a glimpse into the bizarreness of this world that the scientists live in, with wild dragons, blue ghosts, and even a floating eye inside a glass tank, that are clearly not usual things. The colours are soft and dreamy, and the art is drawn in a cartoon style as they are flat and often one-shaded. This would definitely appeal to younger children as it is obviously intended to be read by just about anyone who enjoys whimiscal fantasy and it is full of eye-catching colours. It looks like it's been coloured digitally. There's something about the artwork as it reminds me of a video game with the unusual yet magnificient creatures that would seem so out of place on Earth, but blends in nicely with the rest of the world in Far End.
I found the first volume of the The Far End Chronicles a very charming and light-hearted series. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in a fantasy story set in another world with plenty of magic and science in it as well. The second volume which continues the tales of Lili in The Swamp of the Big Boo is currently in production, and will be completed in 2009. If you're interested in checking out the translated story, it's online at http://www.comicspace.com/miha_rinne - which also has a profile on the creator. |
