CREDIT: Image
Rating: 4/5 – Familiar Themes with Interesting Characters and Gorgeous Art.
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
Rose is squarely set in the genre of fantasy. Reading this first issue will, numerous times throughout, bring you back to many of the themes you’ve seen in fantasy plenty of times before. Magic and magic users have slowly been wiped out from this world, villages have been ransacked in search of rebels, and there’s the threat of an evil queen. Despite containing all these familiar components, I quite enjoyed this first issue written by Meredith Finch with art by Ig Guara. While familiar. It was an entertaining read with beautiful art from beginning to end.
I haven’t read too much from Meredith Finch. While I didn’t really enjoy her run on Wonder Woman, by the end of this debut issue of Rose I’ve turned around and I’m looking forward to reading more. Finch introduces us to Rose and the world she lives in at a rather quick pace. After a three page and very broad synopsis of the world, we get to know not only Rose, but the main villain of the story as well. Finch does a great job of including quite a bit of story in this first issue that at times does feel rushed, but is definitely the right choice to get readers hooked. While I found Rose to be an interesting character, it’s the Queen who captured my attention even more and I’m intrigued by her origins. Finch gives us just enough of the Queen’s back story to build curiosity, while artist Ig Guara gives her a menacing look. Guara’s pencils stole the show for me in this first issue, and the colors by Triona Farrell are the perfect compliment to the art. Guara’s pencils are clean, but have a wispy feel to them. The colors are bright and never stay on one tone or color all too long. Sadly, it’s the cover that contain this book’s weakest art, which is unfortunate as what’s inside is so much prettier than what you first see.
Despite having plenty of familiar notes that I’ve seen in fantasy before, Finch’s writing and Guara’s art were very enjoyable. Creator-owned seems to be what I like from Finch more than her work on characters owned by other companies. I’m glad I gave Rose a chance and I’ll definitely be back for the second issue.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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