BOOM! Studios
Writers: V.M. Caldre, Dustin Nguyen, Kyla Vanderklugt and David Petersen
Artists: Nicole Gustafsson, Dustin Nguyen, Kyle Vanderklugt and David Petersen
Colourists: Nicole Gustafsson, Dustin Nguyen, Kyle Vanderklugt and David Petersen
Release date: April 8, 2015
Price: $3.99

My, oh my.

It is not everyday you see something so wonderfully and skilfully put together that you want to cheer the house down and yell bravo at the top of your voice or lungs or both, equally at the same time. Exquisite in its simply and beautifully detailed art, uncluttered by too much line and too much needy overworked showmanship, where some artists, bless them, try so hard to please the fanboys they miss the mark of excellence by a couple of thousand light years.

But that never happens here, these anthropomorphic tales of warrior mice in the tradition of Aesop’s Fables are a pure joy to read, particularly appealing to the young at heart. Here then is the kind of crafted care so abundant in the very best of children’s fantasy, easily embracing a nineteenth century aesthetic and recalling the wonders of Potter and Rackham and Dulac.

There are benefits of all kinds for someone lucky enough to have this volume land in their lap. There is a real and personal pleasure in reading these stories to oneself and then just quaffing the art in great gulps. There’s the aforementioned opportunity of reading to children, if you’re a parent and there’s the opportunity to chat with them about content themes, such as the application of acts of kindness detailed in one of the stories.

This is BOOM! Studios operating at the top of its game. This is a real genuine gem, and so obviously a future classic of the genre, it might as well have classic emboldened on the cover in deep gold letters. And, just for once, live up to it as well. Excellent, as a word does not quite cover it, but it’s a good start.

Reviewer: CybexAl
Reviews Editor: Stephen Hooker