Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #1
Archaia
David Petersen
I previously reviewed Mouse Guard Fall 1152 and its sequel, Winter 1152, and now David bring us a new adventure. Set in 1115 Petersen tells (and shows us) the story of young Celanawe, the wielder of the Black Axe in both Fall and Winter volumes, and how he came to hold the Black Axe…the most revered treasure of the Mouse Guard. This is the first issue in a six issue series, with the collected edition coming out this fall. So whether you’re old fans or new fans of the series get ready to take journey into the realm of Mouse Guard.
The year is 1115 and Celanawe is still a young member of the Mouse Guard serving at the Frostic outpost near the sea and surrounded by larger beasts and creatures. But all is about to change. Em, an aged mouse–well over 40 seasons–and a relative of Celanawe, has arrived for as a yet unknown purpose. But trouble looms as the beasts around the outpost attack Em’s bird while Celanawe and Em make their way into hiding. They barely escape becoming victims of the Fishers and are rescued by a passing water fowl, thanks to Em’s ability to talk to creatures of the feathered kind. Em has the authority of the Mouse Guard Matriarch for them to embark on a journey across the sea…to find the Black Axe.
The artwork is probably my favorite part of this story. Don’t get me wrong the story is great as well, but the artwork is still stunning. Beautiful watercolor drawings that just capture enough detail in the characters and their surrounding to make them seem real, especially the depiction of the fur of all of the various creatures that appear. In this book David brings his skill to depicting some of the larger four legged hunters for the first time. I love the depiction of their armor and how its made up of skulls of dead animals, crab shells, and even fish and the little details that David adds to the depictions to make it come to life. I especially like the level of detail in the duck that shows up to help them escape, it’s absolutely beautifully done. I don’t think I’ve discussed it before, but David captures the movement of the characters well…those little details that help the characters feel real and alive that help us connect with them better. The little movements as they try to make their way silently away from the weasels are done fantastically. This is still the type of book that I can just sit down with for hours on end and look at all of the details in the illustrations.
I was lucky enough to get to meet David at Emerald City Comicon this year and he has to be one of the nicest guys in the comic industry, willing to chat and talk with fans for a bit longer than most of the folks. And I enjoyed talking to him a bit about this particular story and it was interesting to hear what some fans didn’t like (the death of the crow really upset some of them) and to try to weasel out what was going to happen next (sadly no secrets spilled.) As for this particular story for me it feels like Mouse Guard is one of those stories that is better read in its entirety instead of six part series and that is definitely the case with this issue. The story seems to start off a bit slow and a bit more awkward than the other two volumes, and perhaps it seems that way because I can’t read it all in one go, I’m reading everything piecemeal, which means I’m having to take guesses at what will happen next and having to wait so long to see if I’m right. I also think that perhaps in the completed volume it will build up the tension of the story, just like in the previous two volumes, but here its just a bit hard to pick up on. But once the action starts, where Em and the larger creatures show up, it doesn’t stop and it feels just like the first two volumes of Mouse Guard. Also this tale is a bit darker and younger readers might be a bit upset about what happens to a couple of the characters, but they will still enjoy hearing the story of the Black Axe.
Although this story starts off a bit slow, I can’t wait to read the next issue in the series. This is just such a fantastic little universe that Petersen has created and I would recommend this story for all ages, because it has a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy.
