A wonderfully engaging and enjoyable fairy story. Arthur Blackfrost lived with his mother in the village of Gull Harbour on the island of Yorn. It was a hard place to live, the people of Gull Harbour could harvest enough fish to liver not enough to thrive. The Blackfrost family suffered under a curse that made them isolated within the families of Gull Harbour. Arthur’s father had left them and Arthur was desperate to break the curse. He does get a unexpected gift and success for him the Gull Harbour follows until disaster strikes. Arthur set out to solve the problem and he finds that there is much more going on than he had ever imagined.
Justin V. Gray writes with confidence and care, he takes the whole structure of a fairy tale deeply seriously and uses it with great effect to deliver the story. There is no ironic winking at the audience, the reader is allowed to sink into the story and enjoy if to the full. The reveals are very well staged, the plot moves smartly and the whole story is very satisfying. The cast are very engaging, Arthur is determined, overconfident and openhearted when he should be. He is never a puppet, he is a young man trying to take control of his life and willing to do the work needed to achieve it. Arthur’s mother is the classic fairy tale mother, loving and hardworking, accepting of her fate and trying to protect her family. She is never a cliche, there is a happy life to her that draws the reader to her. The citizens of Gull Harbour are a happy or miserable mob as required. The other major cast members are all given the opportunity to shine and they do, they bring the extra elements that a fairy story needs to be successful.
Laura Rimaszombati’s art is jaw dropping beautiful and captures the story and the nuances with elegance and precision. The whole cast, including the walk on players, are all individual and wonderfully expressive. They interact with each other and their context naturally and ground the story in a tremendous physical sense of place. The action scenes are full of energy and force, the domestic scenes are quiet and effective. There is no sense of naturalism in the art, it is utterly fantastic, it delivers a fairy story with a flourish. The colouring is a joy, it captures and emphasises the emotional tones of the story with subtle care that bring out the concerns of the cast without shouting at the reader. The panel layouts are great, they control the pace and focus of the story in a understated way that never draws attention to the considerable craft that underlies it. The lettering is a pleasure, the differences between the narration boxes and dialogue supports the framework of a fairy story.
Arthur Blackfrost is an unmitigated pleasure to read, highly talented creators making a wonderful comic, a wish come true.
