A fateful journey begins.
Whether you’re fond of Brandon Graham’s growing 8house universe, a fan of fantasy comics in general or just looking to support comics from all-women creative teams, From Under Mountains will appeal to you. This series is set in the same world as books like 8house: Arclight and Kiem, but it also manages to stand on its own pretty well. While the trappings are unusual, the character archetypes are immediately identifiable.
Co-writers Claire Gibson and Marian Churchland divide their focus among several groups of characters in the realm of Karsgate. That approach does make the book a little more of a hurdle than necessary right off the bat. Initially it’s hard to latch onto any particular character. But as the story progresses and readers become more familiar with the cast, this problem fades away. Before long the reader is plenty invested in the plight of Elena, a noble-born lady who yearns to see the wider world, or that of Tova, a thief who quickly finds herself biting off more than she can chew with her latest mark. Most of the characters fall into one fantasy archetype or another, but with just enough wrinkles so that the books doesn’t feel redundant.
It helps that the art is so adept at making From Under Mountains feel unique. There’s a distinctive mash-up of Western and Eastern elements to the setting and especially the fashion design. As the supplemental features show, a lot of thought went into using fashion to distinguish among the various social classes of Karsgate. Because of touches like this, as well as the fluid, emotive figure work, Karsgate feels like a living, breathing world. That’s despite the fact that the flat coloring sometimes works against the story (particularly in some of the indoor environments).
By the end of this issue, it starts becoming clear how the various groups of characters fit together and what conflict this series will entail. This is a promising start for the latest 8house spinoff, one that uses the larger world as a tool rather than a crutch.
From Under Mountains #1 is a promising debut for this new comic, and one that doesn’t require any familiarity with the other 8house comics. While the split focus makes it tougher to latch onto the characters right away, the issue quickly finds its groove and builds up an intriguing fantasy realm.
