When I first read Soulwind, it was a series of five graphic novels that started at Image and moved over to Oni Press to finish, and it was my first real exposure to Morse's work. Now Oni has produced Soulwind as one giant story, and I'm a lot more familiar with Morse's work, and I was pleased to find that I liked the story even more the second time around. The Complete Soulwind isn't just a giant story in terms of page count, but in terms of scope and imagination. Morse weaves together philosophy and down-to-Earth characters, science-fiction and fantasy, time travel and prophecy into a sweeping epic story that plays off familiar themes like the King Arthur myth or the realms of Faerie but introduces a variety of new elements as well. With a point-of-view that shifts in each chapter, time travel elements and capricious (if not outright deceptive) characters, Soulwind was sometimes a bit of a challenge to follow in its original format, but it holds together very well in this collected edition, and is a great example of Morse's strong design sense, imagination and storytelling skill.
I'm actually kind of amazed, reading this in collected format, that I could make much sense of it in separate graphic novel form. While Morse definitely makes each chapter something of a self-contained story, it's the inter-relation of the various stories that is the true strength of Soulwind. The revelation of a sort of closed time loop that links the main characters is clever and provides some nice emotional closure to the story of loss that shows up in the second story, and the slow revelation of the story of Soulwind, passed between wielders and linked to Faerie and King Arthur, definitely plays out better when you read the whole story in one sitting.
While Soulwind is at its core an epic story with its basis in style and subject matter in legends and fairy tales, one of my favorite aspects of the books is actually the characters. Because Morse's story jumps around in time, we see these characters at very different times in their lives, and so each character is more multi-faceted, as we see how time and experiences have changed them. I found that I really enjoyed some of the supporting cast, like the bounty hunters and robot from book one, but my favorite character is probably Sophie, whether we see her as a precocious little girl, a feisty old woman or a frightened and yet determined younger woman. In addition, Morse does a great job of portraying the otherworldly, wise characters like the August Ones or the Elders from the first story.
Soulwind varies quite a bit in tone, because while the subject matter is very serious, Morse is certainly not above including whimsical characters. The animal Poke is like something out of a Disney cartoon, the comic relief character who you come to love, and the sassy older Sophie is a character that you can't help appreciating. Morse's plot includes such heady themes as the regeneration of the soul of the Earth, a magical blade that steals souls, the loss of a child or a young man with cancer, but Morse manages to strike a nice balance between keeping things serious and keeping them light. I never felt like Soulwind's story was fluff, but neither does the importance of the story or the thoughtfulness of the themes take away from the story's sense of fun.
Morse's artwork also changes quite a bit throughout the book as well. Most noticeable is the Eastern, painted style that opens and closes the book and tells the tale of a young monk, very unusual for Morse but definitely quite beautiful. The hyper-detailed and unusual style I've come to think of as Morse's regular style is visible throughout, at its best when it comes to the story of "Captain Crash" or when he's focusing on the character of Poke, with a style that I've come to think of as his more kid's book style being used especially when we see Sophie's younger days. Despite all the art looking somewhat different, it is also all recognizably Morse, and almost all just as beautiful as I've come to expect from his modern work. There is a short sequence, where "Crash" fights Arthur, that looked a bit rougher than I would have liked, but in general, this is a book that is beautiful throughout.
Soulwind is a rare accomplishment, a massive tome of comics goodness that is intelligent, thoughtful and amazing to look at. I'm glad that Oni has seen fit to repackage this story into one giant book, and it's definitely something that should be on every comic fan's bookshelf.
