Crowbound #3 // Review
Ava is being taken away. She’s wondering why. She’s just a little gir. It's easy to be a little bit confused about the ways of the world. However, this is much more difficult to understand. It's just not fair. They never did anything wrong. They always did everything that they were supposed to. They never did anything they weren't supposed to. So why is she being taken away? She learns a bit more about the world in Crowbound #3. Writer Jeff Lemire continues aserial that isbrought ot page and panel by artist Dustin Nguyen. Lemire’s plot continues to march forward with its own distinctive voice.
Ava is being taken away by barred and covered wagon. She's mostly certainly not where she wants to be. But even if she wants to escape, where would she go? It's a very dangerous world out there. And there are lots of people could harm her. And I wouldn't even have to be people who were directly out to get her. However, there are forces that might be interested in protecting her. And maybe she isn't as insignificant as she seems to think she is. She isn't as insignificant as she's been led to believe that she is.
Lemire plays with various elements of traditional epic fantasy in a way that still manages to feel fashionably squad. The heroes are in great danger. Clearly still be underdogs in a major way. Clearly still struggling for basic survival in a world that's much more vicious and mysterious then they know. There's a danger even in the supernatural force that is protecting.Ava. There's a feel of real horror in the midst everything even in the safety. And even in the safety of the world around the characters, there's a sense of danger. There's a real heavy horror about it all that feels very appealing.
Nguyen finds a lot of horror in very simple images. This makes the supernatural feel that much more overwhelming when it glides onto the page. When the more mundane and earthbound elements of Astoria can feel as powerfully intense as they do, the larger supernatural elements feel that much more intense. It is remarkable how much the artist is able to bring across in just a few lines here and there. The detail isn't overpowering the page. There's just the right amount of detail and just the right corners of the panel to really deliver the overall mood and momentum of the story.
It's hard to tell exactly how everything is going to land on the page when it all comes together. It's going to be interesting to see exactly where it is that everything's going on it really gets moving. The canvas on which the creative team is working. Feels small enough that there could be a lot of world building around the edges of everything that would probably reveal a lot more of the mystery, but the story hasn't been able to reveal in the first three issues. There's still a lot of room to for growth and a thoroughly engrossing series.
