On the surface, Archipelago is attractive enough: a rollicking adventure story with distinctive art about a heroic waitress and her True Companions battling to save the world from Submarine Pirates in a Magitek post-apocalyptic setting. The art is distinctive, the story is fast-paced, and the world building is creative and original.
Dig deeper, though, and you'll find that the comic is so much more: The story is lean and tight but it's also multi-layered and must be re-read multiple times to catch all of the foreshadowing and internal references. The various characters' distinctive appearances are matched by characterizations that remain internally consistent throughout their Character Development. The techno-organic environment is very creative, in particular the 'motodeer' and deadly 'scraptors', and even the limited palate of mostly gray washes tends to focus the eye on the things that are truly important Above all, there is absolutely no filler: every single comic serves to advance the story, just as every single element within the comic appears carefully considered. The only significant flaw is inconsistent lettering in the early chapters.
So if you appreciate good storytelling you should give Archipelago a try. It's definitely part of the 10%, and it's surprising that it isn't better known considering it's so well crafted.
Like its namesake, much more than it appears on the surface
On the surface, Archipelago is attractive enough: a rollicking adventure story with distinctive art about a heroic waitress and her True Companions battling to save the world from Submarine Pirates in a Magitek post-apocalyptic setting. The art is distinctive, the story is fast-paced, and the world building is creative and original.
Dig deeper, though, and you'll find that the comic is so much more: The story is lean and tight but it's also multi-layered and must be re-read multiple times to catch all of the foreshadowing and internal references. The various characters' distinctive appearances are matched by characterizations that remain internally consistent throughout their Character Development. The techno-organic environment is very creative, in particular the 'motodeer' and deadly 'scraptors', and even the limited palate of mostly gray washes tends to focus the eye on the things that are truly important Above all, there is absolutely no filler: every single comic serves to advance the story, just as every single element within the comic appears carefully considered. The only significant flaw is inconsistent lettering in the early chapters.
So if you appreciate good storytelling you should give Archipelago a try. It's definitely part of the 10%, and it's surprising that it isn't better known considering it's so well crafted.