Comic Review: Alisik #1

"Stunning, stunning artwork!"
Source.

Leer en español

Read in Spanish

Graveyards are a settings I’m in love with. Despite people could consider it a safe-bet for dark fantasy or gothic comics or books, I find it fascinating to rediscover how different ideas can come from them. Alisik, written by Hubertus Rufledt and with art by Helge Vogt, gave me exactly what I was waiting for.

Alisik is a girl just died and woke up the cemetery, not really understanding what’s happening to her or whatever led to her death, and needs the help of her new friends, dead as well, to deal with the new rules and conditions that apply to the spirits in this charming universe as she find herself falling in love with a living boy.

Written with a good dose of humor and cruel jokes concerning her new state, Alisik discovers there’s more than meets the eye when speaking about the dead and their graveyard, along with the beings she will meet during this new existence of hers.

This first issue is pretty simple, betting more on artwork than in the actual plot, with only a couple of brief, yet curious scenes that introduce the world Rufledt and Vogt have created for this gothic ghost. The reading very fluent, linear and with charismatic characters that the reader feels real whenever they appear.

The reading process was only interrupted for good reasons: stunning, stunning artwork! The design used in each of the characters made me remember Tim Burton’s stop-motion films, creating a mythology very similar to some works by Neil Gaiman. I first frowned when I read those two masters as a reference for Alisik, but you can trust me on this one: it’s fair to include them.

The dark tones used for the comic and the inner pages were a marvel. Somehow, these guys were able to create dark, creepy environments, nocturnal fantasy landscapes that didn’t need black to be the first choice. Blues, purples, reds, greens and even greys and whites combine to create an appealing aesthetic.

There were some panels and pages where no words were needed, using the silence, the absence of dialogues and any other kind of sound to build tension or draw the reader even nearer to the scenes. I admit that I have a predilection for this and it really gives me a good impression of what I’m reading, which Alisik achieved with ease. When texts and dialogues were required, these felt natural, organic, and blended with the environment, all of the art, not bothering at all.

However, it left me with a bittersweet taste when I realized that I reached the end of the first issue because of that: I had too much of the art, of the lettering, the characters, but just too little, if anything, of the story. We only know the basics when we reach the final page of Alisik #1. Not what I expected, but if I’m not mistaken, then there are other three issue coming.
It’s worth keeping an eye on this comic, which is already on the stores and available for everyone. As by me, I’ll be not-so-patiently waiting for the next issue to be ready.

Visit Alisik!