Von Allan

I had picked up “The road to god knows…” after the recommendation of a friend who works at my local comic book store. I read it and liked it. When Stargazer came out this same comic book store put it on display. Since I liked the creator's previous work I decided to try this one to and I was not disappointed.

So far it’s a really good all-age comic. It starts with Marni, a young girl who just lost her grand-mother and who inherits from her a weird gizmo that ends up sending her and two of her friends to an alien world. While the premise is nothing new the execution is what impressed me.

Marni's grief doesn't disappear as soon as she gets to the new world; it's more than just a plot device and does affect the character. The characters are actually the biggest strength of the comic. Each girl has her own personality and I'm very curious to learn more about all of them. They act in a realistic way none of them become superheroes. They react the way young girls would when transported in a new world, curious but scared.

My one complains would be that the adventure is a bit to linear. It feels like things are too easy sometimes and that luck plays a too important part. I also hope that the next volume has more conflict. Not necessarily between the characters but maybe between the characters and the world. I hope to see the characters grow and that won’t happened without things getting a bit more complicated for them and without them being forced to act.

That said I enjoyed this volume a lot and am looking forward to the next one.… (mehr)

This is a great short graphic novel, particularly when you consider that it's Von Allan's first published work. Like other authors' first works, it feels very autobiographical, and Allan has made it no secret that the story is inspired from his own childhood. The story is straightforward and may not contain any diversions, but that only serves to emphasize the important topic of mental illness, and the neglect and poverty that it can cause. When Marie's mom inevitably regresses, there are no distractions to keep you from absorbing the full impact of what the young girl suffers through.… (mehr)