By Charles C. Dowd
Review by Art Bee
Alterna Comics is a comic book
company that has been blossoming in the pleasure center of my brain for a
little while. The comic book Doppleganger first introduced me to this company
and they seem to have a sinister strategy:
sell high quality stories on newspaper printed comic books and sell them
at a buck fifty. To me that is a winning plan, and I am greatly appreciative of
it.
Through this company, Dowd has
presented us with a cute story about a girl, Lilith Dark, who has a very vivid
imagination. Lilith entitles herself as Defender of the Innocent, Slayer of
Beasties and is accompanied by her friend Dinozillus, a stuffed T-rex.
This character has been easy to like for her heart is akin to my own. She states it plainly: her priorities are, “toys, candy, comic books, swords, and cupcake Tuesdays.”
Who can argue with those?
The story starts out with Lilith missing the bus to school while chasing a kitten into an underground labyrinth beneath a hollow, dead tree. There the real adventure begins.
In the second issue, Lilith’s two siblings, Becky and Dewey, end up following her into the dark maze as well. These two characters add much to the story as they are designed to enhance Lilith and her story. It was comical to see Becky stand before her own clothes closet, which is massive and filled to bulging, and claim she has absolutely nothing to wear.
What I like about this story the most is how it flows well from beginning to end. The pace does not waver much at all, and this is also something I don’t like about it. It’s nice to have a varying plot pace to keep things interesting.
The Lilith Dark mini-series uses
clear plot points in addition to precise artwork to tell the story, which
clearly makes this readable and enjoyable for all ages about 7 up (depending on
reading ability). It is clear this comic line is aimed at a younger audience
but, being 40 years old, it has been rather enjoyable for me to read. This just
shows the quality of the writing and the expertise of the wordsmith.
My feeling about Lilith’s age is
she’s about six or seven based on clues in the story, since I didn’t see
evidence of anything to the contrary. I mention this because, at various times,
this felt like events were happening in Lilith’s imagination. By the end this
was not revealed, and all events in the story came to resolution with each of
the characters.
Dowd has created a precise, albeit
simple, style of artwork in this comic series. It is my belief that he is
capable of more detailed artwork due to the accuracy and perfection that are
present. It looks like he deliberately kept his work simple to appeal to a younger
audience. In retrospect, if you are aiming at simple, make that work perfect.
Dowd does just that.
I ordered all four of these issues
directly from Alterna Comics for $6 plus shipping, which is a good price for
four issues. Also there are package deals on the site for additional savings.
Their link is included in this review. Check them out and see what you may like. Their stories have a varied genre, so there is something for everyone. Lilith Dark was a refreshing read for me. Lately I have been a little burnt out on reading comic books, and this story was well timed to reset my interest. This was due mostly to the story’s D&D-dungeon feel.
Thanks Mr. Dowd and Alterna.
