The Empty #1
An interesting idea in an uninteresting package
WRITER & ARTIST: Jimmie Robinson
PUBLISHER: Image
Tanoor’s world is dying. For as far as she and her people can see there is only emptiness. So much so, that they call it The Empty. The Empty is a world of danger, monsters and poisonous roots that certainly aren’t making things any better. Then, Lila arrives. Lila, a fair and powerful gardener from a green place outside of The Empty seems to be Tanoor and her people’s last chance at survival. If, they can survive their journey across The Empty to Lila’s home that is.
It’s an interesting concept, one that has a lot of promise. However, it just feels….empty. I respect the fact that Robinson has brought this whole idea to life himself from writing to artistic duties but, ultimately, it feels like he needs someone else to bring in some polish.
The writing is stifled and abrupt. Characters speak, for the most part, in unrealistic and short bursts. A good majority of the issue, too, is spent on cumbersome information that could easily be showed instead of told. I want to believe that Tanoor and Lila are characters I will come to know and like but as of now, there isn’t enough there, to make that call yet. Awkward too, is the tribe elder calling Lila a “white devil” is this because of her white garb? Her skin looks no lighter than the tribe itself and the name calling seems to come across as racially and perhaps, politically interesting, but there’s no pay off or strong enough connection to our real world.
The art, Robinson’s work too, is much better off. The world itself is vibrant and alive for how dead it’s supposed to be. Similar, in effect, to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in a way. A dying world that you may actually want to see more of for once. The character designs are a little weird, especially Lila’s people who look like B-side anime characters in everything but close-ups, but Tanoor’s design is interesting and gives hints at stories to come.
The Empty simply has too much of an unpolished feel right now for me to suggest you pick it up just yet. I will say however, that with Image’s track record as of late, I wouldn’t write it off completely.
WRITER & ARTIST: Jimmie Robinson
PUBLISHER: Image
Tanoor’s world is dying. For as far as she and her people can see there is only emptiness. So much so, that they call it The Empty. The Empty is a world of danger, monsters and poisonous roots that certainly aren’t making things any better. Then, Lila arrives. Lila, a fair and powerful gardener from a green place outside of The Empty seems to be Tanoor and her people’s last chance at survival. If, they can survive their journey across The Empty to Lila’s home that is.
It’s an interesting concept, one that has a lot of promise. However, it just feels….empty. I respect the fact that Robinson has brought this whole idea to life himself from writing to artistic duties but, ultimately, it feels like he needs someone else to bring in some polish.
The writing is stifled and abrupt. Characters speak, for the most part, in unrealistic and short bursts. A good majority of the issue, too, is spent on cumbersome information that could easily be showed instead of told. I want to believe that Tanoor and Lila are characters I will come to know and like but as of now, there isn’t enough there, to make that call yet. Awkward too, is the tribe elder calling Lila a “white devil” is this because of her white garb? Her skin looks no lighter than the tribe itself and the name calling seems to come across as racially and perhaps, politically interesting, but there’s no pay off or strong enough connection to our real world.
The art, Robinson’s work too, is much better off. The world itself is vibrant and alive for how dead it’s supposed to be. Similar, in effect, to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in a way. A dying world that you may actually want to see more of for once. The character designs are a little weird, especially Lila’s people who look like B-side anime characters in everything but close-ups, but Tanoor’s design is interesting and gives hints at stories to come.
The Empty simply has too much of an unpolished feel right now for me to suggest you pick it up just yet. I will say however, that with Image’s track record as of late, I wouldn’t write it off completely.
A Look Inside
