One of the joys of the San Diego convention was discovering a lot of animators (many of them from Pixar, but really they were from all over) publishing their own sketchbooks and comics. These paper gems might be a bit tricky to find, as they often haven't been solicited through comic book shops and sometimes don't have websites to support them, but because of the level of craft involved, they are generally well worth seeking out. Rose and Isabel is trickier than most, as you'll need to pick it up directly from Mathot's blog. I can't say whether or not Rose and Isabel is worth all those hoops, because this is part one of a two-part story, but I can tell you that if I were a betting man, I'd bet on it being worth the effort. Rose and Isabel is a Civil War era tale of two sisters whose martial skills make them latter day Amazons, and what happens when these two sisters go searching for their three brothers, lost in the course of the war.
The themes of Mathot's story are clear from the outset, as he sets about exploring the phenomenon of female warriors as well as the ties of family loyalty. The plot is likewise clear, although it does take some time to get going while Mathot sets up the necessary backstory and thematic reinforcement. Mathot spends five pages of prologue on stories of warrior women throughout the ages, and these stories are fascinating and well illustrated, making it clear that Rose and Isabel are going to be women cut from this same cloth. However, he then spends a few more pages on the setup of the family and the brothers going off to war, such that when the story really gets started (when Rose and Isabel leave to find their brothers), we're already halfway through the issue. The pacing isn't off, in fact Mathot is a very economical storyteller, it's just that by breaking the story into two parts rather than releasing it all as one graphic novel, he's basically put out a book that is mostly exposition and rising action, without much in the way of climax or cliffhanger. Certainly the story is strong enough to bring me back for part two, but this doesn't really feel like a complete issue so much as the first half of a truncated graphic novel.
Pacing/format issues aside, though, Rose and Isabel is beautifully illustrated and well-written. Mathot really sells the close-knit nature of the family, and with only a few pages manages to convey the sense of not knowing that drives the two lead characters into rash action. The book is at its best, however, when Mathot is focusing on the female warrior aspect of the book. The opening five pages are short vignettes, tales of female warriors throughout the ages, and I don't know if they're all based on myths and stories or if he's making some of them up, but they certainly feel like mythic, intriguing tales, and the images that Mathot chooses to present the stories convey volumes. In addition, there's a fantastic action sequence in the latter half of the book that finds a bow and sword-wielding Rose and Isabel facing off against a Confederate squadron, and Mathot uses the storytelling techniques of western comics and the speed lines and some of other the trappings of manga to portray the expertise and deadly proficiency of his protagonists.
Mathot's artwork, as you would expect from someone who makes their day job in animation, is terrific. The expressive eyes of the character speak to someone who is used to storytelling with such small details, and the general style, while hard to pin down, maps closely enough to work by Mike Avon Oeming and what I've seen of storyboards in Pixar/Disney behind the scenes featurettes, especially when it comes to action sequences. There's a perfect blend of background detail and simplicity of elements that makes for clear storytelling and evocative scene-setting, and Mathot has enough subtlety to pull off the grayscale toning of the work and the effortless shifts between flashback and modern day story.
Rose and Isabel is capped off by a neat little sketchbook section and some pinups from Mathot's fellow animators and cartoonists. All in all, it's a very well put-together book with an unusual genre blend (amazon warriors in the Civil War era) and gorgeous artwork... I just wish the entire story was available now, rather than chopped somewhat artificially into two volumes.
