Writer – Ryan Little
Pencils and Inks – Eder Messias
Colors – Fahriza Kamaputra
Letters – Jamie Me
Addl. Letters – Nick Warner
Tom Auld is lonely in a way that only a young person can be lonely. He feels cut off from his family and his peers, and the old people ,teachers, just don’t connect. It’s exactly the kind of person that the Lonesomes appear to.
Ryan Little’s story Lonesomes focuses around Tom and the Lonesome who has appeared to him, a wolf/plant creature that he’s name Peat Moss. (har har) This creature has the lovability of a young pup and the super powers of Swamp Thing. It grows plant matter out of itself, using vines and wood to move through the air and protect Tom and itself from the attacks of other lonesomes with less than loving intentions. While issue one is strictly an introduction to the characters, there is a line that runs through it into issue two, that being Tom’s realization of the invisible world around him, that connects them nicely. He finds in issue two that he isn’t alone in knowing about it, and that there are others, specifically the veterinarian in town, who know about the Lonesomes.
Little’s story is that of an invisible world, visible to a person or group of people who are special in some way, not a new idea, but Little has spun it in a way that makes it fresh and fun. I can see the character of Tom being one that many different people can connect with, both those younger people who are feeling lonely, and those adults who can remember what that feels like.
Eder Messias’ art reminds me a little of Humberto Ramos’ work on those early Cliffhanger titles like Crimson, the character design is cartoony, with those slight exaggerations that make it fun to look at. His design work on the Lonesomes is great, with the combination of plant/animal matter on Peat a great intermixing, and the design on Velvet, (Hippo/Rock beast of course) also really interesting. Fahriza Kamaputra’s colors are vibrant, helping to keep the tone of the book light even while it focuses on loneliness as a centerpiece.
This book is a collection of some great talent, all put together around a fun story that continues to impress. It’s books like this that make the Indie market an amazing source for interesting work, and the reason why we should never focus on only major publishers for great comic books.
Brad Gischia is a writer and artist living in the frozen Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His wife, three kids, and dog all who put up with his incessant prattling about comic books.
Twitter – @comicwasteland
BAG & BORED 