Red Roots #5 // Review
Kate and Dan are both waking up in a very strange place. They've been here before. They've been here for a while. However, they're only starting to find their way around. And certainly things seemed to have happened to both of them that aren't necessarily within their normal realm of comprehension. They learned a little bit more about the world in which they inhabiting Red Roots #5. Writer/aartist Lorenzo De Felici continues a fantasy action adventure that manages to exhibit more than a little bit of unique personality. The series feels very fresh and familiar at the same time.
Dan has a walk into a goat lady. She is offering him breakfast. She's not exactly calling it bad. Hatchings. That's what she calls it. She knows humans like eating hatchings in the morning. And so she's collected eggs from a whole bunch of different egg laying animals. It's going to be a tough breakfast for him. I mean meanwhile, things aren't much better for Kate. There is a ridiculously large purple man who is offering her sugary cereal. That's perfectly normal. All of the disembodied heads, though? That's something that she's just not ready to face for breakfast.
People have been unwillingly, going to realms of fantasy and adventures since the dawn of popular fiction. It's really hard to do this sort of story in a way that feels fresh and new and original. Nevertheless,De Felici manages a very sharp and distinctive personality to his series, simply by having some of the people from this other world, just kind of fascinated by human culture. That in and of itself is enough to make, the series feel very welcoming when it could feel rather tediously, like just another fantasy adventure set in a distant point in space.
The visuals of the series are powerful. The contrast between the normal and mundane earth world, and the strange horror fantasy that's going on at the heart of everything is quite clearly visible in the visual. Perfectly normal people are caught in a Frank Frazeta drawing. It's a fun contrast, particularly where it involves Kate. Kate just a school teacher. It's really fun to see her visually contrast it against the fantasy setting. The colors are very rich and vivid. The line work is well considered and detailed without overburdening of the page. All of the action is brought to page and panel with clever sense of layout.
And it's all moving in a way that feels like it could really develop into something long-term. There is so much in the world that is suggested beyond what's going on and these two characters’ lives. Theoretically there could be a lot to explore around the edges of everything. In this respect, the writer/artist is. Working on a very small campus in a very large world. This is very refreshing. And it allows the series to feel like it has real potential for a very long run that would also be very satisfying.
