ISOLA VOLUME 1.

The Blurb:

Isola Vol.1 is a fantasy and adventure comic book series brought to you by renown Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl (Gotham Academy creators) and MSASSYK (Gotham Academy colorist).

Olwyn, Queen of Maar, has been changed into a gorgeous black-and-blue tiger thanks to an evil spell. Accompanied by her loyal Captain of the Guard, she will travel far and wide to reverse it in hopes of finding Isola, a mythical island also known as the land of the dead.

Embark with them on this grand and surprising quest! Be ready for beauty, brilliant colour choices, spirituality, and an emotional journey you won’t regret.

Introduction:

When I first lay eyes on this comic book, the colours and strange animals in this adventurous scene caught my attention. I’ve got to admit I’m a real sucker for bright and/or thematic colours. Also, Isola? What does it mean? Such a beautiful word! Did you see the glyphs that represent an unknown fictional language? As a polyglot and language lover, this appealed to me!

Then, I read the summary. A queen, stuck in a tiger’s body, travels the world with her Captain of the Guard to reverse the curse placed on her? Fantasy and adventure? Plus, a queen as a main character?!

There was no other choice: I had to read this book.

Thanks a lot, Edelweiss+ and Image Comics!

The Positive Sides:

Since I have several positive points, I figured it’d be nice to present them in a… bullet list, yay!

• It is INSANELY GOOD! (see other points)

• I love the colour themes and contrasts! They add a lot to the story and the emotions, mostly.

• Gorgeous drawings. There, I said it. They’re a beautiful mix between American and Japanese comics (manga), which is simply lovely.

• Speaking of drawing, the depth techniques the artists used resulted in amazing effects! The characters and important items somehow look closer to the reader than the background itself. It’s mesmerizing, honestly.

• As for the characters, their facial expressions are great and quite believable!

• The Queen, dear Olwyn, I love her (I hope that’s clear) and she looks AWE-FREAKING-SOME as a human! I love her skin colour— it’s a surprise but a very pleasant one at that.

• Also: LGBTQ+ representation, YAY! This time, it’s lesbians, yes! FANTASTIC *throws confetti* ! It’s so rare in general and even more in comics! Excuse me while I sit there squealing about this oh-so-cute relationship in Isola.

• Did I tell you about my emotions while reading this work of art? No? Here I come: AH, my emotions! The story tugged on them so hard I feared for my safety. And damn, how I love Olwyn and Rook (her Captain of the Guard)!!!

• There is tension and a hella lot of mystery. The story’s also mystic and spiritual (in terms of these characters’ beliefs, not ours).

• Animals play a big part in this story (the ever-present fox is awesome!) and it’s so refreshing.

• Last point but a very important one to me, the symbols of unknown languages (at least to us) are just woooow. As a polyglot, let me tell you they excited me!

The Negative Sides:

Hmmmm… None?

Perhaps the fact that the story is sometimes confusing due to a lot of spirituality and flashbacks involved, but really, it’s not off-putting. But then again, it fits the story… This is not a negative side per se, only a small confusion.

In Conclusion:

Seriously? If this were an attraction at a park, I’d stand in line again after every. damn. time. I get off it. I genuinely loved Isola ! All-in-all, I want to KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS STORY! I’ll be damn sure to read the rest of the series and subscribe to Image Comics newsletter just to know when each issue is out and all that jazz. Count me in as a big fan!

On this joyous note, I give Isola a rating of *gasps* 5 out of 5 ! (I swear I would give it more if I could, like 10 out of 5, but hey!)