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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Urban Fantasy Comic Fun

Dark Swan: Storm Born
written by: Richelle Mead & Grant Alter
Art by: Dave Hamann

I am a big Urban Fantasy fan, but I haven’t had the chance to try Michele Mead’s Dark Swan series yet so I was excited to hear her first book, Storm Born, was going to be made into a comic book. I have become a recent convert to comics and graphic novels and I really love the mixing of art and fiction.

“Eugenie Markham never asked for any of this. Until now, she’s been content with her job as a freelance shaman, battling and banishing Otherworldly creatures.
When a prophecy suddenly makes her the Otherworld’s most popular bachelorette, Eugenie finds herself fighting off unwanted supernatural suitors, as well as the evils that begin emerging from her past…”- Dark Swan: Storm Born #1


Dark Swan: Storm Born will run 8 issues long, coming out once a month. The first 4 will be made into a graphic novel at the half way point, and then the last 4 will be released as a graphic novel at the end of the run. The comics are being published by Sea Lion Books LLC, and they were kind enough to send me digital copies of Dark Swan: Storm Born #1 & #2.

I absolutely love this comic. It is fun and fast-paced with a snarky heroine and most importantly, a smexy otherworldly man with visuals ladies! ;) Speaking of visuals, the art work is eye-catching and the colors pop. There is also a hint of sensuality to it, it is definitely an adult’s comic. There is some nudity, but the naughty bits are strategically covered .

Volume #1 introduces us to Eugenie Markham, a shaman for hire. She banishes spirits and all sorts of Fey creatures if they break into the human world. This is an open Urban Fantasy world where magic and supernatural creatures are well known to ordinary humans and are seen as ordinary. The first two panels had me laughing at Eugenie trying to banish a spirit from a shoe. The first volume does a good job of introducing us to Eugenie and her world. She has a cheesy and good-looking roommate who seems only interested in getting laid, and she has a good relationship with her mother and step-father. Something you don’t see a lot of in UF.

The first issue sets up a major story arc; for unknown reasons the otherworldly creatures Eugenie hunts and kills are now wanting to get to know her; in the biblical sense as she puts it. She has also been offered a dangerous case to help find a young girl who has been abducted by the Fey. And you can’t have a kick-ass UF heroine without a mysterious sexy man (did I mention there are pictures? ). This volume ends with them in bed and then….can’t give it away .

In Volume #2 Eugenie discovers, after a night of passion, Kiyo might not be who he said he was, but he disappears before she can banish him. She has another paying banishing job and gets more veiled references about the Otherworld’s interest in her. We get more information about Eugenie’s parents and their role in her life and she decides to take the case about the abducted girl, which means she must physically cross over into the Otherworld, this is unusually upsetting to her mother. It ends with her summoning what appears to be a demon.

Dark Swan: Storm Born is a comic worth checking out.

I give it 5 Banishing Sheep!




SS (edited by BAK)

Sea Lion Books LLC is a newly established publishing house which specializes in all formats-hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market in urban fantasy, paranormal, and young adult genres. Sea Lion Books LLC's recent roster of authors include: International Bestselling author, Paulo Coelho, New York Times Bestselling authors Richelle Mead, Richard A. Knaak and more to be announced.

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