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I have a little confession to make. I am obsessed with wings. My first role
playing character had wings. One of my all-time favorite role playing
character has a pair of biomechanical wings that she designed.
Furthermore, the role playing game that I am slooooowly writing features
umpteen winged races, each with a slightly different type of wing. Like I
said, I am obsessed.
So, when I saw the brunette fae with the absolutely beautiful wings on
the cover of Vögelein, I grabbed the comic without another thought. I
didnt look inside the comic. I did not even look at the inside. The cover
art was so mesmerizing, the wings so perfect, the fae so mournful, that
somehow I knew this was going to be a good comic. I was not
disappointed!
The title character of this story is a clockwork faerie made by a master
watchmaker in 1671. Every day she must be wound up with a little key.
The keyhole is in her back between her wings (you know, that one spot
on the center of your back that you cant scratch?), so someone else has
to wind her up. So, shes understandably been through quite a few
guardians since her creation.
Issue 1 (of a regrettably only 5 issue story . . .. Waaaaa!) starts with the
death of her most recent guardian, Jakob. Vögelein goes off in search of
someone to wind her up, and finds this computer geek Jason, who
honestly wants to help her. However, his neighbor is creepy and nosey
and scares Vögelein away from Jasons earnest offers of help.
Understandably, she doesnt feel safe with the creepy neighbor around,
and flies off into the rainy night. The end of the issue introduces a kewl
looking demon-fae, and leaves one waiting for the next issue to come out.
The art in this comic is freakin spectacular! Jane Irwin painted the entire
black-and-white issue (and all upcoming issues). The facial expressions
are amazing . . . You dont need a little "shrug" or "sigh" written next to
Vögelein, you can tell her emotions just by looking at her face, her pose.
The stark white word balloons with their computer-font lettering (plain
letters for normal people, an italic font for Vögelein) almost seem like a
blemish on the paintings.
Another thing I love about the art is that while Vögelein is a beautiful
and delicate creation, shes not a Barbie doll. Her face and figure are
pretty, but within realistic standards.
The story leaves many questions which I hope will be answered in
upcoming issues. For example, we can tell that Vögelein was supposed to
be a clockwork doll, a gift for a loved one of the watchmaker, and nothing
else. What brought her to life?
One great thing is, Jane Irwin wrote and painted all of the issues ahead of
time, to try to avoid the huge delays often encountered when dealing
with self-published and small-press books. I cheer her for this effort!
Yay! Woohoo! Ive waited many months between issues of Sleeping
Dragons and Girl Genius . . . Theyre both always worth the wait, but its
frustrating not knowing when the comic will actually be out, and
forgetting the details in the meantime!
If you love fantasy and are looking for a limited-run comic with amazing
art, Vögelein is the title for you. In fact, I would recommend that just
about anyone pick up the first issue, even if just to admire the art.
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