Nicole Chartrand

The print collection of the first half of long running webcomic Fey Winds. All it all this is a bit of a hidden gem, well worth a read for the goofy humour and delicious art that perfectly complements the sory. Fey Winds succeeds where a lot fail. Many start off all goofy & light fail to develop a plot, others turned all grimdark when the plot kicks in. This manages to combine world threatening developments and goofiness, often on the same page. It sounds silly and it is, but because it's well written & beautifully drawn it pulls it off. The characters do start off pretty one dimensional, but as the story progresses they have filled out and developed, sometimes in unexpected directions. Just don't expect Anna Karenina.

I really like the art style, but I find it hard to explain why, the word delicious keeps springing to mind (maybe I need a bite). While it has some manga influences, particularly in the earlier pages, Nicole Chartrand has taken them and incorporated them into something greater. It's distinctive, expressive and colourful. It suits the goofiness, but also portray the more serious elements perfectly. It complements the story perfectly. Sometimes with webcomics it feels like they are trying to tell Game of Thrones with the art style of Dr Slump. The artwork has improved and developed considerably over the course of the webcomic but remains recognisable. Although several of the earlier pages were redrawn for this collection. But then with all the best webcomics of this vintage that are still around or managed to complete their stories their art developed remarkably or changed totally.

Anyway, read this if you like comedy fantasy stories, I think you'll enjoy it. Don't expect the incisive social commentary of Terry Pratchett, it's its own thing.

EDIT: The webcomic is at http://www.feywinds.com/ While you are there, read Nicole Chartrand's other webcomic Shattered Starlight http://www.shatteredstarlight.com/ . It's an urban fantasy about retired magical girls, more serious than Fey Winds, still with light hearted moments and the artwork is stunning. Black & white with spot colour for significant elements. Suits the setting perfectly. There are far to few comics and webcomics that take advantage of the opportunities of the black & white medium.… (mer)