THE SANDWALK ADVENTURES #2
"Chapter Two: The Stone Path"
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Active Synapse Comics
Writer/Artist: Jay Hosler
Price: $2.95 US/$3.95 CAN |
I've a confession to make. Despite all of the critical acclaim, even from my reviewing partner Randy Lander, I've never read Clan Apis. I don't think I've ever even laid my eyes on a copy. I've been meaning to get around to reading it, but it never seemed like it was a priority. Well, having read both the first and second issues of The Sandwalk Adventures this week, it's jumped up on my need-to-read list.
An aged Charles Darwin continues his coversations with Mara, the follicle mite in his eyebrow. While Mara seeks wisdom from the creature she's known as a god her whole life, Darwin tries to explain that he's only a man, but at the same time, to share some of the mysteries of existence and creation he's learned in his 72 years. He thinks back on his days on the Beagle, and a trip to a South American ranch where he made a fascinating discovery.
My God, but Hosler has developed an ambitious, multi-layered story in The Sandwalk Adventures. Building Darwin's life and writings into a personable story was a Herculean enough task as it is, but combining them into a mythology for the mite society is beyond impressive. The research at play in this series is so comprehensive that is left me awe-struck.
One of the reasons this mix of history, science and a new mythology is so compelling is the cute nature of the character designs. Hosler's Darwin is an adorable little man, and one can't help but like him on sight. The simplicity of the design for the mites works surprisingly well, and it makes for a sharp and interesting contrast with the accurate and realistic depictions of animal life in Darwin's stories.
Hosler brings together so many different elements -- science and education, humor, personality, adventure, sociology, philosophy -- together in this book, and he makes it seem easy. It's rather difficult to describe why I found the storytelling so fascinating. The Sandwalk Adventures is just one of those books that you have to read to believe and to understand why others rave about it. It is not to be missed.
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