Image Comics
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artists: Germán García & Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Andworld Design
There are many dark takes on fairytales, so at a glance, Briar #1 isn’t anything new. Still, most of those dark fairytales are missing the creative talents of Christopher Cantwell, Germán García, Matheus Lopes, and Andworld Design.
Briar #1 opens with a simple premise: What if Sleeping Beauty just didn’t wake up when she was meant to? Instead, she wakes up a century after her kingdom has fallen, to a dark and unfamiliar world. Christopher Cantwell doesn’t spend much time on the fairytale portion of this and instead throws the royal protagonist into an unforgiving climate where she simply struggles to survive. There is nothing sweet about this tale, fulling leaning on dark fantasy elements.
Cantwell does a superb job at breathing life into the dark setting. The characters are mostly awful and react the way you’d expect them to towards the protagonist. When someone looks disheveled, famished, and rants about being royalty, it’s hard to believe them. Of course, most of the people she runs into treat her terribly, except for another character who is an outsider herself. There are many parallels to our world in this one, and it’s hard to be shocked by the atrocities of the antagonists in the issue. Everything hits hard and is well narrated by Cantwell, making this a compelling read from start to finish.
Somehow though, the script isn’t even the best part of this issue. Germán García and Matheus Lopes ensure that every page is gorgeous. The opening pages that retell the story of Sleeping Beauty are bright, airy, and beautiful. The awakening of the princess to her new dark, cold world is dark and dreary. The final setting that the characters find themselves in is harsh and unhabitable, with brutal reds and oranges to turn up the heat. Every setting and panel is full of stellar detail that breathes life into the script.
The characters and their designs are all excellent. The protagonist looks exactly what you’d expect her to after her long slumber. Her new ally has simple, familiar shapes and colors that tell a lot about her race’s background. Every character is incredibly expressive, especially the confused, hungry, and parched protagonist. There are many fantastic panels with larger-than-life expressions over her tired, bony face that tell more than the words on the page do.
The entire package is fully brought together by excellent speech boxes and lettering. Andworld Design continues to deliver high-quality lettering with excellent choices in fonts for both present-day and fairy tale flashbacks. The narration boxes have a whispy feel to them, while the dialogue and sound effects all feel harsh.
Briar #1
The Good
- Nearly flawless lettering
- Wildly expressive characters
The Bad
- Characters aren't captivating just yet.
