GOBLIN CHRONICLES #1
Written by Troy Dye and Tom Kelesides
Drawn by Collin Fogel
Published by Ape Entertainment

A young goblin boy named Gorim is a rebel without a cause no longer in GOBLIN CHRONICLES, a new kid-friendly fantasy book that follows a pretty standard path in setting up its uber-plot. Gorim loves to read and create, where goblins are a war-like race, and that doesn’t sit well with his parents. In fact, each race in the GOBLIN world (troll, elf, goblin, shape-shifter) is constantly fighting, thanks to the manipulations of the Dark Queen who rules the land. However, there’s a greater purpose to her keeping the factions fighting; there’s a prophecy (there always is) that says four will band together and bring her down… and you can probably guess that a little goblin boy who prefers to read than fight is destined to be one of them.

There’s nothing inherently offensive about using the standard tropes of a fantasy story, so I’m willing to give the book a pass on that, because they’re executed with competence and charm. However, the book does get bogged down on the artistic side; Fogel’s art is static and lacks dynamic movement, and the color scheme is murky, making it difficult to tell the goblins and trolls apart. The dialogue could use a bit more punch as well, but it’s acceptable as is, as opposed to some of the art issues.

One other thing I’d point out- the target audience here is definitely younger by nature, making publishing this as a miniseries a questionable call. Indy publishers are already ignored by a significant percentage of comics shops, making this a tough sell to a limited market; the real sales potential here is in bookstores for the collected edition.

/Mason