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When I went looking for review material this month, it had been nearly two
months since I'd set foot in the comic shop . . . We'd been busy and money
had been tight and every time that we intended to go check out the new
comics selection, something would come up. So when we finally arrived at
the comic shop on the last Sunday of January, we were greeted by a slew of
comics we had never seen before. Unfortunately, they were all so bad
looking that we'll never be purchasing them.
The only exception to this rule was Neotopia, by Rod Espinosa. I was so
impressed by his Courageous Princess stories, that he's now on the very
short list of artists whose stuff I always check out. Neotopia was good
enough that it is on another very short list . . . The list of comics I intend
to read on a regular basis. Yes, happily, I have found a new series that I
like . . . that isn't a limited series!!!
But, enough about me. Let's talk about the comic. Neotopia is not the most
original book in some aspects (it has cliche plot points sprinkled
throughout the first issue), but I'd say it's fairly unique among the comics currently
being published. Neotopia is a strange world with humans, elves, maybe
dwarves, and some strange anthropomorphs, including bat people (which
annoys me, because I thought the bat people in the RPG I'm making were
original.... grrrrr). The world previously went through a heavily industrial
age where they pretty much strip-mined their planet, ruined their
environment, etc. After a couple hundred years of chaos, an age of
enlightenment emerged, and now the people of Neotopia strive to live in
harmony with the world, striking a careful balance between man and nature.
They're also very technophobic, because their history tells them what
technology can do in the wrong hands.
All of this is background information that we receive while a "Prince and
the Pauper"-type story unfolds. We see the Grand Duchess Nydia attending
her history lessons, fighting practice, and diplomatic appointments. Only
later do we learn that the real Nydia hates this sort of thing, and that the
character we've been following the whole time is really a servant named
Nalyn who secretly takes Nydia's place for all of the "boring" stuff. Nydia
is mean-spirited petty royalty. Nalyn is, of course, kind-hearted and tries
to make fair rulings when she's masquerading as the grand duchess. As such,
the commoners adore her, as do the diplomats from minor countries that
she treats with the same kindness as those from larger, more prosperous
countries. Nalyn's dearest friends, the only ones who know about the
situation, are a dolphin and some faeries.
The male character in this story who, in my jaded opinion, is destined to
fall in love with Nalyn, is Philios. Philios is a floatship mechanic with an
"unhealthy" interest in ancient technology. He meets Nalyn when, while
pretending to be Nydia, she orders his rocketpack destroyed, even though
he modified it to burn natural gas. She believes that technology is
dangerous and you never know when it might fall into the wrong hands.
Philios is heartbroken over losing his rocketpack and feels he must
convince the grand duchess that technology isn't all bad.
When Nalyn (still pretending to be Nydia) takes him on a float ship, telling
him it's the best way to fly, she's abducted by a mysterious wraith-like
entity. Oh no! Who shall save her? My guess is it'll be Philios and his bat-
person friend Monti, and maybe that duck-billed professor and the Elven
guard. We can only hope that like in Courageous Princess, the damsel in
distress will work to save herself as well.
Rod Espinosa's art remains a treat for the eyes . . . It has a manga-like feel
to it, without the super distortion that many people associate with the genre.
The colors are soft, and the attention to detail is nice as well. As a
jewelry designer, I loved seeing the interesting jewelry that the Grand Duchess
wore, as well as her costumes that are somewhat like a toned down version
of what you'd expect from Star Wars' Amidala.
As with Espinosa's previous work, this seems like a great comic for all
ages. This book should especially appeal to young girls, and may be a great
way to get that preteen girl in your life on the way to comic addiction.
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