The Goblin Chronicles #3

The final issue of this miniseries is out, with colors again ably provided by Will Terrell, Chief Hierophant of the Lubbock Sketch Club. Gorim the goblin, Zara the troll, Sprig the shapeshifter, and Gween the elf finally encounter the oracle and ask him how to defeat the Dark Queen, but his answer is pretty nonspecific. The group is ambushed by a trio of swamp monsters and forced to surrender to the Dark Queen, but the Four Realms have put aside their differences and are marching to battle against the Queen’s forces. The Queen casts a spell to start all the various races fighting each other, but the quartet of young adventurers manages to escape from the dungeon and free some of the leaders of the Four Realms. The leaders persuade their followers to turn their attentions back on the Dark Queen. Desperate for some way to stop the heroes, the Queen begins to summon the Host, a horde of demonic imps who can destroy everyone who opposes the Queen. Can Gorim, Zara, Sprig, and Gween stop the Dark Queen before it’s too late?

Verdict: Thumbs up. A charming and fun end to the series, with promises of more possibly on the horizon.

And speaking of the Lubbock Sketch Club, the First Friday Art Trail hits this Friday, August 1, and the Sketch Club’s artists are going to be featured at an art show at the Lubbock Garden and Arts Center at 44th and University. Remember, the Art Trail runs from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, and many of the artists from the Sketch Club will be displaying their works, including comics, prints, and sketches, at tables at the Garden and Arts Center. And their works will be on display throughout the month of August, too — some of them will even be for sale. So if you’re not able to make it out for the Art Trail on Friday, you’ll still have a chance to stop by and see their artwork.

And as long as we’re talking about Sketch Club events, don’t forget the Lubbock Comic Book Workshop on August 9th! It’s going to be a great resource for any aspiring comic artists who want to learn how to improve their artwork!

Picked up a couple comics featuring work by Lubbock-based creators. Let’s give ’em a once-over, oy?

 

The Goblin Chronicles #2

This one features coloring work by Lubbock Sketch Club poobah Will Terrell. Our story focuses on youthful fantasy heroes Gorim, Zara, Sprig, and Gween as they try to avoid the Dark Queen’s troops, fulfill a wizard’s quests, and free some slaves. But the more they succeed, the more the Dark Queen will try to capture them all.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Still good fun. You almost feel sorry for the Dark Queen’s soldiers — they really don’t stand a chance the whole time…

 

The Idea #1

This comic is illustrated by local artist Luis Estrada. It follows a young writer named Johnson Doyle who has paralyzing writer’s block. When he attempts to break the block through meditation, he discovers that he can take a mostly immaterial form and is able to change into anything that anyone else thinks of — specifically, when he overhears a father reading a bedtime story to his son, Johnson ends up becoming the dragon in the story. Can he escape from the angry crowd pursuing him, or is his path to enlightenment going to be cut short?

Verdict: Thumbs up. The story is plenty cool, and the artwork is really interesting and expressive. I think it even gets more expressive when Johnson takes his mostly-featureless “Idea” form, but as we’ve noted before, good cartooning becomes more universal as it becomes simpler and less complex. At any rate, it’s definitely worth picking up.

 

The Goblin Chronicles #1

This is a comic of local interest — the colorist is Will Terrell, the guy who runs the Lubbock Sketch Club.

This is a fantasy adventure, with four constantly warring races — the elves, the trolls, the goblins, and the shapeshifters — in a land dominated by the evil Dark Queen and plagued by marauding demons called the Host. Most of our story concerns Gorim, a young goblin who cares more for reading and tinkering than warfare. Sent on a hunting expedition, he meets up with Zara the troll, Sprig the shapeshifter, and Princess Gween the elf. Though they fight briefly, they find themselves recruited by a tree — actually Imtrix, a powerful wizard — to fulfill an ancient prophecy and liberate the Four Realms.

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a standard fantasy plot, so it really needs good characters — and lo and behold, that’s what they’ve got. Gorim, Zara, Sprig and Gween are all archetypes, but they’re interesting, they’ve got good personalities, and they’re all written with humor. The artwork’s cute and cartoony — my primary complaint would be the similar appearance of goblins and trolls — the trolls all look like goblins on steroids.

How’s Will’s coloring? Well, it looks fine to me. I know that may sound like damning with faint praise, but that’s not my intention. I’m not an artist of any sort, so it’d be silly of me to pretend to talk meaningfully about the art of coloring a comic book. I’m more than happy with the way the book looks — gracious knows I’ve seen some badly colored comics in my day — either muddy colors that run together or garishly eye-straining to look at — but this one is easy on the eyes, gives a great look to the scenery, and adds its own boosts to the atmosphere and mood of the story.

Oooh, and before I forget, I got a sketch from Will when I was buying this book. Check it out — this is our hero, Gorim.