The Lost Colony
I recently received a copy for review of The Lost Colony Book One: The Snodgrass Conspiracy by Grady Klein, published by First Second Books. Synopsis here. Sample pages here.
At first glance, each page seems densely choreographed with many panels colorfully adorning the small but unique and comfortable First Second Books' 8.5" x 6" format. The artwork seems to walk a line between relief printing and serigraphy, flat yet defined, bold but gentle. Illustrated using Adobe Photoshop (or Illustrator?) every frame kinetically engages the viewer, screaming to be animated; surely a byproduct of Klein's animation background. In fact, after seeing the preview for the book (here) I have no doubt this would make a fantastic animated series.
With so many panels per page one could easily miss, or misunderstand, the foreshadowing and flashback panels throughout the book. Almost hidden among the static dialogue driven scenes they help give wonderful insight to character's lives, past and future. The real pleasure of the artwork comes, for me, not in the tightly woven quilt of smaller rectangular panels that Mondrian every page but instead in the full and half pages of art. Like coming to a clearing in the midst of the lost colony itself, each large shot captures the viewer and holds them in gaze.
What motivates these half page and full page images is their limited use of black outline, used throughout the book only to define characters and foreground objects. Here instead, environments rely on their color to separate elements from one another. Soft and skillfully they render for the reader an understanding of The Lost Colony not found in characters, plot, or dialogue; quiet, content. In fact, the backgrounds throughout the book, mostly monochromatic, are more actively packed with information and detail then the actors in the fore, and are adequately compelling in themselves.
The characters of The Lost Colony are caricature stereotypes turning their inherent cliche's on their heads. The big dumb oaf happy to take orders, the Hispanic madman disguised as a Chinese medicinal healer, and the pompous buffoon banker who claims to run the place and manages to keep it "Lost". Quirky and bubbly, their comedy can best be described as gleeful and slapstick. But don't be fooled, there's a plenty of jokes that lie beneath the surface and taunt the intelligent reader.
This book tackles issues of racism in nineteenth century America with a vernacular of the present day. Oddly enough, it does so with an often unsettling quality that leaves room for interpretation... but also room to elaborate. With a plot that is reminiscent of Miyazaki, in a way Miyazaki would never dream, we are caught in a quasi-steampunk tale told out of place and out of time. The Snodgrass Consipracy conspires to do one thing best... Make you clamor for the next book. With the introduction of characters, setting, and style introduced in a fun little graphic novel of magic, industry, and backwoods politics we can only wait and see what happens next in The Lost Colony.
