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Title: The Magic of Aria by Brian Holguin, Jay Anacleto ISBN: 1-58240-139-X Publisher: Image Comics Pub. Date: 01 July, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Fantastically Fractured Faerie Tale
Comment: Brian Holguin is one of those rare comic book authors who could have a five-year-old doing his illustrations and you just wouldn't care because the story would suck you completely in regardless. Fortunately for us he doesn't have a toddler, he has the terminally gifted Jay Ancleto, and if that isn't enough to send you into the throes of ecstacy then I don't know what is.
Between the two of them they conjure up an utterly believable realm where fairies and ancient gods walk among us, as human as you or I but merely gifted with magicks and a conditional immortality. Lady Kildare is beautiful, chain-smoking, leather-loving, fairie with a take-no-prisoners attitude and a day job at a curiosity shop. Pug is her tattooed, incorrigible partner in crime who's as handy with a broadsword as he is with the dispatching of a case of beer. Her cousin Gwynnion is fragiley insane in a thoroughly endearing way and it is she who serves as the catalyst for the Second Coming of The Dark One. The three of them, plus some other eccentrically magickal characters you may or may not recognize, have to trek halfway around the world, through worlds mundane and magical to try and save both realms from imminent Armageddon.
Which is not to say this is just one long, drawn-out, bloody swords and sorcery story. Just the opposite. There are many quiet, character development moments infused with humor; especially funny are Gwynnions meanderings in and out of sanity (Or as close to sanity as she can get) and a scene where Kildare has to deal with one ignorant customer after another until all she can do is disparagingly declare 'Oh what fools these mortals be'.
The only thing that keeps this book from being a five star read is the disconcerting jump from Ancleto to a fill-in artist- who is still very good but works in a completely different style that gives you a jarring transition- for one of the four issues. Also, Ancleto's fully shaded, photo-realistic illustrations are so perfect as-is it would have been nice to see them without computer effects layered on top of them. I defy you to look at the untouched black and white covers and sample panels at the back of the book and think that they could be improved in any way with a bit of color.
Graphic novels are the DVDs of the comic world; as such the extras are what make or break the final prouduct and Aria simply teems with them. About a third of the book is nothing but bonus material, including a cover gallery that features all the issue's covers, even the alternate ones, with all the logos removed to let you appreciate 100% of the beauty. There's also a bonus prose story by Brian Holguin and lots of assorted sketches and pin-ups by Jay Ancleto.
Rating: 5
Summary: Breathtaking...
Comment: The volume contains the first set of issues from the wonderful series, Aria. Jay Anacleto's photo-realistic artwork is breathtaking, and Brian Holguin is the master when it comes to writing fairy tale stories for adults.
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Title: Aria: The Soulmarket by Brian Holguin ISBN: 1582402825 Publisher: Image Comics Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: The Draconomicon (Dungeons & Dragons) by Andy Collins, James Wyatt, Skip Williams ISBN: 0786928840 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: 14 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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