Animal Castle #1

Animal Castle #1

Ablaze Publishing 2021

Written by Xavier Dorison

Illustrated by Félix Delep

Coloured by Félix Delep & Jessica Bedard

Lettered by Tom Napolitano

On the Farm all animals were equal.

In the Castle some are more equal than others.

Nestled in the heart of a farm forgotten by men, the Animal Castle is ruled with an iron hoof by President Silvio. The bull and its dog militia savour their power, while the other animals are exhausted by work, until the arrival of the mysterious Azelard, a travelling rat who will teach them the secrets of civil disobedience.

This is an absolutely stunning book. I was taken aback by the interiors and how mindbogglingly brilliant they are but then the story itself was equally as brilliant and while it has some remnants of Animal Farm and Animosity there are no humans in sight so it’s in a league all its own. I’m still sitting here in awe of this book so if I ramble forgive me, but I am thoroughly engaged in this book and as I flip through it again as I write this I see how that no matter what kind of society there is there are going to be the haves and the have nots and there will be conflict and strife between them. Maybe it’s also because a human writes this and it’s what we know but the idea that might makes right also seems to come into play here.

I am in love with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in establishing the personalities of these characters. The pacing is amazing and as it takes us through the pages introducing this world, these characters and the story at hand we’re caught up in this magical mystery place that we have so many questions about.

I am extremely impressed with how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. I am also liking the way that we see the layers opening up new avenues to be explored. With such an introduction to this there are many places that we want to see explored further and how things got to the point we see here. This adds so much depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The linework is truly exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail within the work is staggering to behold. That we see such prolific use of backgrounds and how they enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story are marvellously rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show an extraordinary eye for how colour works.

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This is one of those that I want to urge you to pick up. If your store doesn’t have any then have them order it for you. Step outside that comfort zone and try something of this calibre and you won’t be disappointed in the slightest. The writing of this story is brilliant and the characterisation is emotional and endearing while the mindbogglingly brilliant interiors will leave you breathless by their sheer scope. This is what comics were created for.