Review: By The Horns #6

For fans of this fantasy styled book, this issue has a been a long time coming; if you are coming into this issue as your first look into the world of Elodie then you have wandered into an issue that may confuse you from the beginning.

From the outset, we know that Elodie has a hatred of unicorns, due to their involvement in the death of her beloved. In the true definition of “show and tell”, writer Markisan Naso depicts the actions that led to Elodie’s actions, reactions and current situation.

Due to his death and its impact on Elodie, Shintaro has been the driving force behind the story. Naso takes us on a whirlwind tour of Shintaro’s life and loves, sans any words, It is a bold step to take; a comic with no words is a bold choice to make with only a few people actually making the trick work. I am glad to say that this time around the storytelling is par excellence, with Shintaro’s kind nature shining through. Also on show is Elodie’s loss and her determination. Of course, Elodie isn’t the only one to grieve; a point that every dog owner may well recognise. There are smaller impacts to be found, so it is vital to pay attention throughout the book

Jason Muhr’s art remains on point with a simple easy style that belabours the complexity of trying to tell a story without the aid of words. In fact, Muhr has to really concentrate on the emotional impacts of the characters loss, anger and therefore the strength of their convictions. Muhr also gets to practice his animal art, with buffalo types, wolf types and of course the unicorns, all of which work well and look like they should which further serves to keep the reader entranced in this world. Andrei Tabacaru provides the colors for the book in a style that is quite bold though they’re not lacking of some nuance. Muhr pulls double duty by supplying the letters. I wonder if when Muhr plans his pages and panel, does he include the balloons from the get go, which is a benefit over the regular comic creation plan where the letters are added last.

This book has moved from a set number of issues to an ongoing book. This is a huge credit to Naso and Muhr as well as Scout Comics commitment to its creators, which will allow Elodie’s world to continue to grow and develop.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Markisan Naso
Art & Letters by; Jason Muhr
Colors by; Andrei Tabacaru
Published by; Scout Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network