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Salvager Kain #5

Hey look, a multi-part storyline!  Technically I think that’s what you call a “series”, which is what this already is, but who am I to quibble?  In this issue Kain runs into a couple of adventurers (and their intern) after he makes it to the caverns.  After seeing the massacre that they’ve committed (and being quickly disabused of the notion that the creatures attacked the adventurers first), Kain starts trying to figure a way out of his situation, which is helped immensely by the fact that the main adventurer is insane.  It’s another solid issue, and while very little happens on the “moving the story forward” end of things, the dialogue between everybody involved is brilliant, and who could blame them for massacring such an obviously dangerous band of creatures as we can see in the sample?  On top of all this (which, I feel compelled to mention, is available for free and in color through the link at the top of the page), there’s a fantastic recap to the story from the bees in the last issue, and a epilogue of sorts from Paul where he tells us all about himself.  As of this moment (12/5/09) there are only two new pages from the next issue up at his website, but seeing this issue in full color is thoroughly impressive, and the couple of pages available already show that Kain is thoroughly tired of being kicked around.  Check it out and see for yourself, this issue is $3.

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Salvager Kain #4

OK, before I get to the actual issue, you should know that it ends on just a bit of a cliffhanger.  I mention that because Paul has decided to make this into a web comic to reduce the wait between issues and to make it full color, to which I say: huzzah!  This is one of those comics that screams out for full color.  How he’s going to manage printing that once he gets an issue together (and he says he’s going to keep putting out regular issues) is beyond me, but more power to the man.  And the comic?  Isn’t it obvious from the above reviews that I’m hooked?  If you’re looking for an unbiased observer, that man isn’t me.  Still, I like to think I’d call something a pile of crap if it was a pile of crap, previous biases be damned.  And this… is not a pile of crap.  Kain is looking for a river, which should lead to a waterfall, which should lead to a tunnel.  Naturally, this task isn’t going to as easy as all that.  Along the way he meets up with a particularly hungry creature, the bees on the cover and a rightly pissed off fish.  This issue is, if anything, a transition issue, which makes the fact that I can go right to the man’s website and pick up the story that much sweeter.  It’s rare for something to already be “I can’t miss an issue” at #4, but here it is.  Paul also says that these early issues won’t be web comics, so you’ll have to get the old fashioned printed edition to read them.  If he keeps up the story like he has, that means you’re going to want to get the early bits before they go out of print.  $3

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Salvager Kain #3

More pieces to the puzzle are revealed in this issue, and Paul is smart enough to start off with a recap for those poor souls who only managed to find this issue.  It always amazes me that more creators don’t throw a synopsis into the start of their series, especially when keeping tabs on what came before is so crucial to understanding what’s happening now.  In this issue we get to see just what “Kain” means, how the bartering society operates, and what happened to all the women who managed to survive.  Intrigue, betrayal, treachery… all by a character that still only has the vaguest idea of what’s going on.  The art is still tremendous (seriously, Paul must chain himself to his drawing table to keep up this rate of productivity), the story is still fascinating, and the pace is just about perfect.  I think the man may be onto something.  $3

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Salvager Kain #2

Dribs and drabs, that’s the way you want to build up a regular series like this. In this issue we get to see Kain finally run into somebody on the outside that has their act together, somebody who knows that you have to take food where you can get it, even if that means dead people. He briefly takes Kain under his wing, but everything in the outside seems to have a price. We also get our first look at some of the creatures living here in the outside world. For my money the anorexic Big Bird was the creepiest thing around, or least it was until those flying skulls came out of the woodwork. In the meantime we still have little to no idea of who Kain is or exactly what’s going on around here, and kudos for that. I may just break my “only one review per creator on the main page” rule and get the next issue up here in a hurry just because I’m thoroughly hooked and can’t wait to see what happens next. $3

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Salvager Kain #1

Aspiring comic artists, take note: if you’re looking to make an impression, you could do a lot worse than to follow in the footsteps of this guy. Scroll down this page and you can see me review the first issue for a couple of series, one of which lasted 8 issues and one four, then today in the mail I got the first three issues for this series. These were all done over the last half dozen years or so which, in the small press world especially, is a ridiculously productive pace. And there’s the minor fact that there’s noticeable improvement from series to series, which is even more impressive when you consider that he wasn’t bad at all to begin with. Kudos to the man, that’s all I’m saying. Well, how about the comic? That whole diatribe would seem pretty silly if I hated it, now wouldn’t it? What we have here is an excellent setup for a series. We see a big wall, behind which is a kingdom, theoretically at least. We’re introduced to the main character right away, as he’s indignantly dragged out and sent into exile. As a precondition to his exile (and to the exile of more people that we see soon enough) his mind is wiped, leaving him with no memories and no idea of who he is. Once he’s out he meets a few of the options in his new world. He can stay by the wall (out of fear of heading into the unknown forest), get eaten by cannibals (who live in said forest) or join up with a seemingly together group of people who are arming to take the kingdom by storm. Or not, as he figures out soon enough. The name “Kain” comes from an odd set of sticks the man sees, and in this entire first issue we’re given very little to go on in regards to the inhabitants of the kingdom and the main character, just bits and pieces of life outside the walls. All of which is a great setup to a series, as what keeps people coming back for more faster than multiple mysteries? As for the art, it’s tremendous. Paul has a serious lock on facial expressions (useful for illustrating what are essentially a bunch of blank slates trying to figure out the world) and the whole thing is just gorgeous. I can only guess that he keeps himself chained to his drawing table, as what else explains this impressive productivity? Like I said, I have two more issues to get to in the near future, but from the first issue this looks like something well worth checking out. $3