Mysteries await for Rosalind, but will she hold strong for what’s in store?
Creative Staff:
Story: Aly Fell
Art: Aly Fell
Colors: Aly Fell
What They Say:
A young student of England’s greatest occultist learns her real father is in league with the devil. When Rose finds out that the man who raised her isn’t her father, she ignores his warnings about the terrible secrets of her own past and seeks answers from her childhood teacher Dr. John Dee, the queen’s occult adviser.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: girl becomes fixated on a major task after a parent is about to die revealing a major part of her past. Meanwhile, the father has a dark past that leads towards the girl coming to him. So, the girl goes on an adventure to find out about said dark past while completing a major task. Yet, Aly Fell’s The Shadow Glass makes it gripping. Maybe it’s because of Rosalind that the story keeps things interesting.
Rosalind is an outlier to the environment. Independent as a woman, she roams around doing as she pleases including tendencies that are considered unladylike as commented by her father. While she may come a bit aloof, we get to see a side of her that is caring by the time the father has important news to tell her. it makes for an interesting development because it emphasizes that she will not only become strong through physical training but will also have to learn to deal with her emotions as well as develop on an emotional scale. This makes for a good start for building up for continuing themes throughout the series.
There are only small issues with this particular volume. It seems that this volume has a few issues with pacing. Going through the comic while the prologue obviously belts like a build up for the series, the first volume seems to take a little bit more time than necessary to set up the events. It feels that a lot of reveals for this particular volume arrive later than necessary. For instance the reveal of Rosalind’s mother and how that connects the prologue almost feels a little bit too late for a first issue. However, at the same time, it feels that it was necessary to push the reveal to give context to the readers.
The art may not appeal to everyone. While it’s nice and detailed this style itself does not necessarily scream pretty or beautiful. The realism makes sense, but even for the realism, it gives off a slight visual push back for the eyes. For other readers, the art may seem quaint. The details give off a renaissance feel with vibrantly mute colors, scenery that harken back to the styles of the day with a comic book update. If given a chance, people will enjoy Fell’s artwork.
In Summary:
The Shadow Glass seems to have the basics down. Interesting setting with a multifaceted lead, the Shadow Glass will captivate the imagination of many of its readers. Few issues aside, this volume does great work to convince the average reader to pick it up and give it a shot. The only question is if Aly Feel can keep up the moment built in the first double volume and work from there. If this volume is an example, the answer is a solid yes.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 23rd, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
