Two-in-One Review: Broken Tree Publications Polluted futures and haunted pasts make up two of the titles available from independent publisher Broken Tree Publications. Don and Randy take a look at its offerings in a Two-in-One review. Randy: Broken Tree Publications are a new publisher who have already published their first comic, Industriacide #1, but who have, according to their website, a plan to publish about a half-dozen others. They sent Don and I electronic copies of Industriacide #1, as well as partial copies of Industriacide #2 and scripts, art samples and finished art from their first full-color title, Prophet of Dreams. Don: The difference between Industriacide and Prophet of Dreams is like that between night and day. I'm pleased to find a diversity in subject matter, storytelling techniques and visual styles. Industriacide #1-2 written and illustrated by Sean Dietrich edited and lettered by Julian Lawler Prophet of Dreams #1-2 written and edited by Julian Lawler art by Rudy Vasquez colors by Sean-Thomas Gunnell & Nigel Lewis lettered by Ed Dukeshire Don: Industriacide explores the dark corners of the human psyche, but I find it difficult to describe it beyond that. Dietrich tells thoroughly surreal stories of odd little people in a stark urban setting. The book boasts a depressing tone, but I don't mean that in a negative way. The creator embraces the most tortured and disturbing aspects of human emotion, making for an unusual, chilling read. Randy: Industriacide is a book that had piqued my interest when it was solicited in Previews, as it had a powerful visual imagery and an intriguing dark futuristic concept. The book is indeed quite beautiful, as Dietrich's artwork is powerful and creepy. His detailed work seems ideally suited for black and white, and he creates violent and savage imagery that I would liken to the works of Roman Dirge or Jhonen Vasquez, although Dietrich uses this style not for dark humor but simply for darkness. Don: There are a lot of influences at play in Dietrich's art. Randy's pointed out a couple of them, but I see hints of Sam (Four Women) Kieth, Renee (Marbles in My Underpants) French and even Todd McFarlane. He mixes exaggeration and detail to create some powerful and bothersome visuals. Randy: While the art on Industriacide is quite good, however, I found myself having a lot of difficulty following the story. Dietrich writes in an almost pretentious poetic style, creating strong visual imagery with his words but failing to really convey the story with the twisted narration of the lead characters. It doesn't help that his art, while beautiful, is not the best for storytelling, or that the lettering, while professional quality, often seems a bit too small to read easily. Don: Dietrich uses an odd stream-of-consciousness scripting style that is, like Randy points out, kind of poetic, but it also boasts an impenetrable quality that leaves the reader out of the loop somewhat. What I found more distracting about the writing, though, was the abundance of poor grammar, awkward phrasing and typos in the script. A strong copy editor is needed to tidy this book up a bit. The fonts -- especially on the second issue -- are particularly difficult on the eyes as well. Randy: I'd be onboard for another Dietrich project in the future, but I think a more focused and accessible writing style would help to enhance the mood of the artwork, whereas writing in the same gothic style served to heighten imagery but obscure any sort of plot or characterization entirely. Moving on from Industriacide, we have Prophet of Dreams, a full-color fantasy title written by Broken Tree editor-in-chief Julian Lawler. I am picky about my fantasy, although with the recent Lord of the Rings film fresh in my mind, I was certainly open to the idea of a new epic fantasy series to enjoy. Prophet of Dreams shows promise as an exciting fantasy title, with a perfect epic premise and very solid artwork. However, Lawler's script often suffers from the opposite of the problem that Industriacide had, speaking a bit too plainly when a little bit of flourish is required. I should mention that Don and I are reviewing Prophet of Dreams in an unusual way, based largely on script and art samples, with only a dozen pages of colored art and several more pages of pencilled artwork. So any comments we have may or may not apply to the finished product, although what we do have gives a pretty good indication that Lawler and artist Vasquez have a pretty good rapport. Indeed, artist Rudy Vasquez shows signs of becoming a major talent, with some truly impressive and ornate designs for armor, werewolves and other fantasy trappings. In fact, having seen the pencilled artwork and the colored versions, I find that a lot of the impressive detail is actually lost in the coloring stages, and wonder if the book might be better-served in black and white. Don: Randy's right... it's hard to form an informed opinion about Prophet of Dreams in this format. It's like trying to figure out what a completed 500-piece puzzle might look like when one only has 78 pieces to work with. One thing is clear, though: Vasquez's art boasts a strong sense of visual flow, adventure and imagination. His work is far more conventional than what we see from Dietrich in Industriacide, but it's also more accessible to a wider audience. Prophet also demonstrates that Broken Tree can work on a more professional level when it comes to production values. A lot more care has gone into better lettering and some vivid, rich computer coloring. While I have little sense of plot or character from this preview, it's clear that the various visual components are strong and show a lot of promise as well. Randy: Prophet of Dreams and Industriacide are both interesting and unusual projects from a new publisher, and I look forward to seeing what Broken Tree Publications has to offer us in the future. For more information on Industriacide, Prophet of Dreams or Broken Tree Publications, visit www.brokentreecomics.com. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.