Archaia Press - Jim Henson's The Storyteller and Rust: A Visitor In The Field

Archaia Press is doing something really special. They are putting out amazing comics with presentation that is just incredible. This is the first batch of comics we'll be talking about here and these two books definitely deserve to be first. We reviewed Rust on the show last week and two weeks from now will be reviewing The Storyteller. Here are the two books front and back.

There's just something really great about the books that Archaia is putting out. These could sit on a shelf with any hardcover novels in a bookstore.

The first book up is Jim Henson's The Storyteller. This is based on the 80's HBO show of the same name. If you haven't seen the show, get on it. It's John Hurt playing titular character and Brian Henson (Jim Henson's son) as the voice and puppetry of his dog. The storyteller tells the dog stories based on European myths and they are shown through some of the best puppetry and creature creation I've ever seen.

This book brings together a ton of great comic book creators to tell even more great European myths. With the television show, they did a second series that was Greek Myths, in which Michael Gambon played the storyteller. In this comic, there are no Greek myths, but we do get some fantastic Asian folk tales. Some of the creators on this book include Roger Langridge, Colleen Coover, Chris Eliopoulos, Jeff Parker, Tom Fowler, Marjorie Liu, Paul Tobin and Ron Marz. There is a huge amount of talent contributing to this book and it shows.

This book is incredible. It is an ALL AGES book. That means that an adult can enjoy it as much as a kid and if you have a kid, they would love this book. The final story is based on an unproduced episode of The Storyteller TV series and is the standout of this book. If you can, get your hands on this book.

The second book is Rust: A Visitor In The Field. This book's plot is too intricate to explain, but it is a very good book.

And while the story is really good, it's the art that makes this book stand out so much. The way the writer/artist, Royden Lepp, is able to draw light and focus is something I don't think I've ever seen in a comic. It really is quite an accomplishment.

Here's a really good example of both.

So, with our first comic book post on this blog is two books from an incredible publisher that everyone that is interested in reading something other than capes and cowls should check out.