Published By: Sick Mind Press
Written By: Walter S. Crane IV
Art By: Walter S. Crane IV
For those familiar with SHEBA, which I was not prior to this book, this volume collects the first seven issues of the series. There is also a “volume two” collection and there is a preview for that at the end of this book. For newcomers, it is hard to ascertain who this is targeted at. It feels like it was written for kids yet I doubt it would appeal to them or make much sense to them either. That said, I’m sure there are readers who this would interest, it just may not be what it appears to be from the cover.
First off, the synopsis on the back of the book may make some readers believe that this is a book about Egyptian folklore/history. Though it does involve historical references and settings, this is not a history lesson. It is about a dead cat that is resurrected and talks. Yes, there are talking animals throughout this book. If you’re the type of reader that does not have a strong suspension of disbelief than this is not the book for you.
As mentioned above, this book is about a dead cat that comes back to life. No, it is not a zombie cat, it just happens to gain life again after a few hundred or some odd years. Honestly, none of that really makes any sense or is well-covered here. Basically, this cat comes back to live and intends to make Egypt what it was prior to her death. In order to do that, she’ll have to sway people away from a new religion and stop anyone (or animal) that stands in her way. It’s all a bit ridiculous and at times I could not get into it, but it is well handled and people who find the concept intriguing should find something to enjoy. I’m just not one of those people.
The writing is usually good. Crane has a very dialogue heavy style and there is a wealth of text on these pages with some of it being more relevant than most. Crane’s biggest issue is bringing up topics and not following through with them. There are many mentions of historical/mythological events but Crane just assumes the reader knows what he’s writing about. That would be fine if this were actually a book about Egypt, but it is not. Egypt merely serves as the setting here and nothing about it is really established. I’m not sure what “volume 2” brings to the table, writing wise, but from this book I can say that Crane is a solid writer that just needs to focus more on why he is writing something, not necessarily how he is writing it.
Crane also provides the art in the book and that tends to fare better than the writing. The art is black and white and looks like it could have been done with charcoal pencils. There is a lot of shading here and his work definitely has definition to spare. The art can get erratic at times though, with some characters looking disproportionate from one section to the next. For the most part, the art is the strongest aspect of the book though, and if he were to seek work as just an illustrator I would definitely check it out.
SHEBA is not necessarily something I’d recommend to anyone but I wouldn’t dismiss it either. Crane is talented, for sure, but he doesn’t seem to know who this book is for. It isn’t well researched enough in regards to the history it makes mention of for adults to be interested and the whole thing is a bit too heavy handed for children. I’m sure there is an audience for this though, it’s just a matter for you to decide if that is you or not.
