A Monster Lass: Sue, An Urban Sorceress #1
A Monster Lass: Sue, The Urban Sorceress #1 Transmediatale 2020 Created by Gianluca Balla Written by Daniel Maher Illustrated by Antonella Capolupo Ripples London is dark and mysterious. Sue knows it well because she is an Urban Sorceress. She does have a scary power: she can read souls by burning chicken bones. This one I saw on ComiXology and took that preview look at it and thought this looks promising so I contacted them and asked to review the issue. Yes sometimes we have to be cheeky about it because I do reviews and it doesn't pay. I am so glad that I did that too because this issue is incredibly darling. I remember being in secondary school and being the outcast, the kid who had slurs, names and such hurled at them by kids who didn't have the nerve to say it my face. Here they make no bones about saying things to her face and I am not sure which is worse. My point, and yes I have one, is that Sue is someone that pretty much everyone either is, knows or did this to others so it's easy to relate to on a number of levels. Right from the get-go I liked Sue. Tarot cards and the kind of existential thinking that we see. There is a heck of a lot dialogue here but what we see is mostly bullying in one form or another. It is harsh and oft times cruel although there is that one sequence that takes us by surprise, or at least it did me, that showcases a side of Sue she always thought she had but didn't have the opportunity to really explore it. I am guessing on that one but with what we see and what she says that's a pretty strong assumption. Still I find it a fascinating look at how we navigate the hallways of secondary school. First impressions are the ones that last and if you've grown up with these kids then being cast out usually happens at an early age. So what we see is really defence mechanisms in play. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is extremely well done. The character development really is top notch and I could wax philosophical further but let's not. Let us just say that what Daniel manages to do is get me so engaged and so involved that I use my life for the basis of understanding and knowing what this feels like. That is some darn fine writing people. The pacing is great and it takes on this journey through the pages working with everything else to create a really nice ebb & flow to the book. Daniel may be writing this but it's Antonella that's the star here. Her work is exquisite and the way that this has a manga feel to it and yet isn't exactly manga is sensational. The linework is superb and how we see the varying weights being utilised to bring out the attention to detail is stunning. The different techniques that we see being utilised is what helps to make this what it is. The faces and facial expressions bring so much emotion out of the characters and really help to flesh out their characterisation in ways that words alone cannot do. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this magnificent eye for storytelling. I think this tugs at the readers' emotional strings as much as it does the characters. By the last page I think I was a tad heartbroken and it leaves you feeling a little gutted. Now that I do feel this way and that I have such a connection is really thanks to this creative team because they've manage to bring this to life in such a real and powerful way. I want to see what happens with Sue next and where she goes from here. While I have no idea what's in the cards, pun intended, I have to say I think I may have found a new magnificent obsession in this. So I do hope that we'll be seeing more of this series
