Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother #4

Fourth of a set of issues bought from the creators' Kickstarter.

Title: Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother
Issue: 4
Date: 2018
Publisher: Dreamweaver Press
Writer: Jose Calderon
Artist: Daphne Lage

Review of the previous issue is here.

Ravenwood continues his preparations to enter the labyrinth while Ellision's demon creature begins its campaign against the guerilla forces of Seem.

This issue did a nice job mixing action with intrigue while advancing multiple plotlines. Some good backstory was provided along with a bit more insight about just how dangerous the labyrinth is.

Solid issue that kept me interested in the story.

Rating: 7/10

Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother #3

Third of a set of issues bought from the creators' Kickstarter.


Title: Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother
Issue: 3
Date: 2018
Publisher: Dreamweaver Press
Writer: Jose Calderon
Artist: Daphne Lage

Review of the previous issue is here.

Ravenwood continues to plan his expedition into the labyrinth while the Kalizarian forces prepare for their assault on Garrison Hadge with a new plan in place to deal with Seen and his troops, who have so far prevented every attempt at landing. And Cromwell finds Silvermain, who is deathly ill with the plague.

After what I felt was an issue that became a bit hard to follow in places, this one did a lot to improve the focus, even while continuing to juggle a large number of plotlines. This issue had some strong moments, and it built tension toward some major confrontations and revelations to come.

Rating: 7/10

Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother #2

Second of a set of issues bought from the creators' Kickstarter.

Title: Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother
Issue: 2
Date: 2016
Publisher: Dreamweaver Press
Writer: Jose Calderon
Artist: Daphne Lage

Review of the previous issue is here.

I have to be honest, this one was challenging to follow everything that was going on. The creative team's use of uncaptioned scene shifts in the middle of pages did not help matters. This is already a complex tale with a big cast, and I felt like the "Our tale thus far..." bit at the beginning could have done a better job of recapping some of the immediate setup for this issue's action.

That being said, the fact that there is a lot going on in this issue enhanced the epic feel of the story, and left me interested in seeing how the various threads would come together. There were a lot of great individual scenes as well, and a good mix between action and dialogue.

This issue could have used a bit more room to breathe, but there was no lack of advancement of plotlines, and I look forward to reading more.

Rating: 6/10

Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother #1

Another comic that I bought via Kickstarter.

Title: Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother
Issue: 1
Date: 2016
Publisher: Dreamweaver Press
Writer: Jose Calderon
Artist: Daphne Lage

I've previously reviewed the first five issues of the Tall Tales: Thieves' Quest series (my review of the fifth issue, with links to the reviews of the other four is here).

The anthropomorphic fantasy epic picks up with Ravenwood and his band of adventurers in the city of Azbeth, where a monster-infested labyrinth hides the enchanted healing water known as the Tears of Talis, the only hope to save a plague-stricken and besieged city.

Unfortunately, so far the labyrinth and its denizens have proven too much for Ravenwood's band. They convince him to try to find a guide, and he ends up with competing options.

That's the main plot, but this is loaded with subplots. This is not a great jumping-in point for those new to the series, and even I had a bit of trouble figuring out who is who, having only read five issues of the previous series. Still, the pacing is really good, and the intrigues and interactions definitely held my interest. By the end, I felt comfortable with the story, even if all of my questions had not been answered.

The artwork in this issue is especially fun when the giant monsters from the labyrinth show up.

Rating: 7/10