Comic World News

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Owly: Just a Little Blue

Review by Michael May

Written by Andy Runton
Illustrated by Andy Runton

Published by Top Shelf
$10.00

I was skeptical. How could a children's comic about a cute little owl become the critical darling of 2005? Were critics really so jaded and cynical about dark comics that they were just ready to embrace the first light-hearted thing to come along? It's a cute little owl, for crying out loud. And his name is "Owly."

I was skeptical, but I kept an open mind. All those critics couldn't be wrong, could they?

No, they couldn't.

You need to know that I like dark comics. Horror comics are some of my favorites and I'm enjoying the heck out of the gloomy themes that mainstream super-hero comics have been playing with the last few years. I don't feel overwhelmed by it at all and I'm not looking for something � anything � to cast a light into the shadows. Having said that, Owly won me over. He's just that charming.

Just a Little Blue is the second volume in the Owly series. I haven't read the first, but in this one Owly and his little worm pal Wormy are feeding some birds in the forest when they see one of them, a bluebird, take some nesting material and fly away. Owly and Wormy follow the bluebird back to a rotted tree where the bird is trying to make a home for his family. It's a pitiful place with no protection from the elements and Owly decides to help by building a birdhouse. The bird is distrustful though and not only refuses Owly's help, but tries to eat Wormy too!

There's no written dialogue in the book. Instead, Runton uses universal symbols in his word balloons so that even kids who don't know how to read or people who just don't read English can follow the story. It also makes for a quick reading experience. Just a Little Blue does what it needs to do swiftly: getting past defenses with lovable characters and then ending once the heart is warmed. It's long enough to be effective in drawing you into Owly's world; short enough to leave you looking forward to more.

Runton's cartooning is simple, but oh so effective. Characters are cute, but Runton is able to convey a range of emotions with them. One of the most potent themes in the book is sacrifice. The blurb on the back of the book is misleading. It calls Owly "lonely" when he has truly close friends (in addition to Wormy, there's a helpful little butterfly named Flutter) and diminishes the sacrifice he and his friends make by describing it as being for friendship. Not to be hard on the blurb-writer, but what's so beautiful about the story is that Owly and Wormy destroy a beloved object � a wagon that's brought them immeasurable joy � in order to have enough wood to build the birdhouse. Not for a friend, but for a stranger. And an ungrateful one at that. And as ungrateful as the suspicious bluebird is, Owly and Wormy's concern for him and his family never lessens. When you've seen the delight on their faces as they push around that apple-filled wagon, then the tears in their eyes as they dismantle it, then even more glee as they behold their finished birdhouse, you can't help but feel your heart lightened. And you can't help but share their ache as their gift is rejected and they try to think of other ways to help the bluebird who � after all � is just trying to protect his family. That's a lot of emotion from a children's book. No wonder people love it.