It’s rare for me to find a book that genuinely puzzles me. Sure, if a book puzzles anyone, the best choice is to read it again. That way, they’d be able to understand what it book was saying. However, what if after reading it, they still don’t understand it? What is someone supposed to do then? Proxima Centauri Vol. 1, is published by Image Comics and written and illustrated by Farel Dalrymple. The story follows a teenage wizard adventurer named Sherwood Breadcoat. He’s trapped on Proxima Centauri, which is a manufactured dimensional sphere that’s approximately 4.243 light-years away from Earth. He’s looking for a way to escape so he can search for his brother Orson. But first, he must deal with all sorts of dangerous obstacles, confusing emotions, and alien creatures.
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What I really enjoyed about the comic is the way it’s written. It doesn’t use the normal conventions of comic books that just have relied heavily on dialogue. Instead of following this normal narrative structure, a major part of the story comes from the images and the various metaphors attached to them. A portion of the story is also told through the various emotions that Sherwood displays as he tries to find his brother.
Everything about this comic flows smoothly from start to finish. It flows like with such natural progression, almost like a novel would. Most of the pages are filled with art and pieces of dialogue. The art style makes it feel much more personal, creating a sort of relationship with the reader and the book itself. It evokes a personal connection and tries to help you understand just how the protagonist is feeling. It’s quite rare for me to find a comic that envokes this kind of emotion. We as readers see the world through Sherwood’s eyes, meaning we see it the way he sees it.
One of the other things I enjoyed about the comic was the title. It didn’t give too much away but it was captivating enough to draw my attention. The most I knew about the comic was that it would take place on a star since Proxima Centauri is the name of a real star. It’s quite an interesting concept that I haven’t really seen before.
However, a lot of this information didn’t quite come to me upon my first read. The comic is almost very psychedelic-like, making it a bit difficult at times to fully understand. I got the basis of how important the relationship between the two siblings was, but the way it was handled at times was questionable.
I wasn’t fully aware of what direction the writer was taking this. I appreciate the bold move that the author took to not follow the normal conventions of a comic book, but it was a bit distracting at times. I would’ve enjoyed this, even more, had it not been for that.
Even with the questionable choices, I was able to enjoy this comic to some capacity. It’s not a must-read comic, but it’s worth the experience. It does portray a beautiful story but through was that makes it hard to understand. I hope to find more comics like this so I can get used to this style of comics.
Proxima Centauri Vol.1 will be available on January 23, 2019, wherever comic books are sold.
Proxima Centauri Vol. 1
TL;DR
Even with the questionable choices, I was able to enjoy this comic to some capacity.
