Kaya #33 // Review
Kaya and Jin have had a falling out. It was really only a matter of time. They weren't exactly getting along. And then things completely fell apart. Chance and circumstance have found them drifting apart. Literally as well as figuratively. Jin is going North to confront the all-powerful Oracle of Atria while Kaya is traveling south to the Warrior School of Heedran. Their journeys continue in Kaya #33. Writer/artist Wes Craig and colorist Jason Wordie continue their serial in a whole new direction as the two central characters spilt-up to explore different ends of the mythology of Craig’s world.
Jin treads a path that is literally coded in binary. Or maybe it’s just coated in binary. There's something about the Oracle that seems to understand how things got to be the way they are. And so he's going to have some difficulty trying to understand it. He's far from anything that he knows. And there seems to be a lot going on that has to do with things which happened a very, very long time ago. Meanwhile Kaya it's beginning to find out the part of her journey to the school might be an education in and of itself.
There’s a real contrast between the more abstract world-building that’s largely going on in the beginning of the issue and the more visceral and kinetic action that's going on over the course of the final part of the issue. It's a nice pacing and overall composition for a single issue. The subtly intricate structuring of the two main characters, they're supporting casts, and the substance of the background of the story are all really interesting to explore and the brief portions that Craig is working with. It's fascinating to see it all. Come together the way it does.
Craig has a beautiful way of bringing the backstory and the world building to the page at the beginning of the issue. Long blocks of text about history can be very tedious in any fantasy comic. Particularly as there isn't necessarily a whole lot of originality in what Craig is putting to the page. However, the visual reality of it really sells it as being something that feels interesting and engaging. As always, Craig is quite deaf at bringing action to the page when it's time to deliver it. There's a powerful strong sense of movement across the page that serves the story well.
The long range plans for the series seem to be unfolding in a clever fashion. A larger picture of the world that Craig is developing, begins to become much more clear as the series progresses. The world itself doesn't seem too terribly compelling. Thankfully, the characters that Craig is bringing to the page are. Over the course of the 33 issues that have come so far, there's been a strong, emotional connection that's built up for the characters and what it is that they're going through. In light of how compelling the characters are, the world that they exist in doesn't necessarily have to be all that interesting. This is really about Kaya and Jin. And they’re both really cool.
