Written by Justin Zimmerman
Art by M. Lawrence and Digital Breath
Published by Brickerdown Productions
Supported by Kickstarter
Of all the Kickstarter campaigns we have supported in the last year, this one is my favorite. Upfront I am coming from this review biased because I really love Justin Zimmerman’s work, and want the whole world to know about it, and just how cool he is, and how awesome his comic books are. I met Justin just about a year ago, and as an artist and a writer I have seen some of the best work in the independent world come out of his hands and brain. Otherworld Maps and Legends is no different than I would expect from him, and we are totally awesomely proud to have supported this Kickstarter project. Other Worlds Maps and Legends is the compilation of the Other Worlds story line, including the Robot Library and other stories tied together in a nicely published Trade Paperback. The story line takes a darker turn in the final chapter that might not make this suitable for anyone under the age of 14, but just about everyone else will totally dig on the story lines.
We start off in the Robot Library where two kids are trapped in a huge library populated by Robots whose mission it is to keep the books safe. There is almost no text in this story line, leaving the entire story line open to your imagination. I gave this comic to my niece and she wrapped whole worlds around the story line that continue to amaze me with the power of her imagination. This is a beautiful minimalist story line that allows the reader to literally make their own text as the panels move through the story line. This is simply a beautiful story line that opens the door to many possibilities for the reader. We then move to the Creature’s Name, which is a darker story about bugs, monster hunting and two kids in the woods and what they find there. Then we move onto Ground Control where two kids play astronauts for the day with the space shuttle. This is a sweet story line and also minimalistic on text leaving the story line open to interpretation. Then there is Madrugada, which takes place in a post apocalypse world where a savage finds people in suspended animation. This one is more interesting in that how does the post apocalypse world deal with the very people that caused the world ruin? Then there is the short story Digital Breath that is very different from the rest of the book in look, feel, and tone. With the final chapter in the book Clean, which is a dark disturbing story involving two children, and one gets killed by the other one. The last story is not a happy story, but it is also pulled right from modern headlines when our children become killers.
This book truly shows Justin Zimmerman at his absolute best. This comic book is simply brilliantly executed, well drawn, with deeply engrossing story lines that cover the depth and breadth of happiness, joy, imagination, death, and our modern world. There are sections of this book that are awesome for kids, there are sections of this book that are awesome for adults, meaning we get a fully developed package of awesomeness that is well worth reading, and well worth collecting. Rating this book five of five stars, and l will always be looking for the physical copies of what is coming out of Justin’s brain, because it is simply brilliant with a broad appeal to multiple ages and audiences. This one is a must purchase as soon as I can find it in stores or online.
Related articles
- Other Worlds Trade Paperback: Maps and Legends (comicsforge.com)
- Other Worlds interview with writer creator Justin Zimmerman (comicsforge.com)
- Zenescope goes all Kickstarter you need to support their project (comicsforge.com)
- SLG Comics, Kickstarter, and the reality of being a comic book publisher (comicsforge.com)
