Abadazad #3

[JimHughs4]

Writer: J.M. Dematteis

Illustrated by: Mike Ploog

Painted colors by: Nick Bell

Abadazad #3, "Explosions", begins with the introduction of Matt, the heroine Kate's younger brother, and the Lanky Man, the apparent villain of the series. The Lanky Man has kidnapped Matt, and is holding him unconcious "because I need their dreams." Meanwhile, Kate is evading the Rocket Heads attack on the city of Inconceivable. In the course of this she encounters a new friend, Master Wix, a living candle, and they're saved by Queen Ija. Kate and Wix are treated to a discussion on the nature of Abadazad, and the misconceptions Kate continues to have regarding it. Despite Ija's requests, Kate and Wix leave Inconceivable to search for Matt... And wind up in a predicament that brings up some bad memories for Kate, ending in another cliffhanger.:)

DeMatteis has written a story that is reminiscent of Oz, Narnia, and Wonderland, but remains unique. His dialogue is very natural, whether from a little girl, regal queen of a magic realm, or an apparently brain damaged living candle. The plot continues to deepen, revealing just enough in this issue to make you want to continue on.

Ploog and Bell combine for some of the best art I've ever seen. At times it looks almost animated, at others very well rendered. The views of Inconceivable are stunning, it's not what you would imagine but completely different, yet perfectly realized. Kate is one of the best and most unique heroines I've seen in a comic in years, more amazing considering she has yet to change out of her nightshirt.

In addition, there is a text page by DeMatteis describing how this story reached his ears and a "Picture Perfect" fun page by Ploog. It's nice to see these little extras in a book.

All I can say is that Abadazad is my pick for best new series this year, and #3 continues to hold up with the others in the series.

A+, with extra points for innovation

[Caramuru]

I just read #1, 2 and 3 back-to-back. There's a lot of thought and immagination that went into this and it created a wonderful fantasy world rich with history and compelling characters. Kate is a great "modern" character in the sense that she's a very convincing teenager and that she's constantly comparing and contrasting the "real" world of Abadazad to the more traditional Abadazad fairy tale books she's familiar with.

DeMatteis goes as far as to write pages from the "original" series of Abadazad books to enrich the main story and give glimpses of the characters about to be introduced. The series reads like a story from a book. It feels that it has a beginning, middle and end. Each issue can be seen as an individual chapter. The main story progresses a bit slowly, but it's filled with lots of fascinating elements to keep us interested. I have no idea how the series is structured, but I can imagine long story arcs, like a series of books. At this point, I have a feeling similar to when I read some of my favorite Alan Moore stories: I hope DeMatteis would be able to sustain such an interesting story for as long as the book goes. I think he will. It's just that I've seen so many good ideas in the book already that I'm almost afraid he'll run out of them.

The art by Ploog and Bell is just gorgeous and I think it will help turn this book into a classic. It might be too soon to say that, but eveything so far is very promising.

[Caramuru]

Another thread about Abadazad #3 (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12770)