Monkeybrain Comics

(Adam P Knave/DJ Kirkbride/Nick Brokenshire; 19 pages, digital; MONKEYBRAIN COMICS, 2015)

The AMELIA COLE series follows the adventures of a young woman, raised in the magic arts by her aunt. Amelia uses her magic to cross between two separate worlds, one where magic is the norm, the other where science rules (the realm she believes to be her home world); in each world, the other discipline is unheard of. The series works in arcs of six issues each but, they are not self-contained… the finale of one arc leads directly into the plot and storyline of subsequent arcs. So, before getting on with specifics on this issue (the second chapter in the fourth story arc), let’s get a little bit of insight into the characters and the basic premise of the overarching story in this superb, tightly scripted series, shall we?

The first story arc, AMELIA COLE AND THE UNKNOWN WORLD, introduces Amelia, a young woman who suddenly loses everything she loves – her family, her friends, her world. She then loses her beloved aunt and another world and, now, she finds herself trapped in a third dimension that may or may not be her actual birth place. She quickly runs afoul of the law for using her magic powers in an unlawful fashion and, eventually, ends up fighting the authorities’ enforcer, a dark robed mage called the Protector. Defeating the well-meaning puppet hero, Amelia now finds herself the city’s new Protector.

Things really begin to heat up (as if the action in the first series wasn’t enough!) in AMELIA COLE AND THE HIDDEN WAR. As the new Protector of Otysburg, Amelia – along with her pet golem, Lemmy – goes about protecting and saving the populace, regardless of their social standing (mage protection is fine, non-mage protection is in violation of the city’s penal code), something that seriously ticks off the Magistrate, whose puppet strings are being pulled by a dark and mysterious wraith cabal known as the Council. Meanwhile, Hector Garza, the former Protector is fighting another war against other-dimensional demons with Omega Company, a military outfit he signed up with when he lost his job. Neither Amelia nor Hector realize that they are, in fact, fighting a common foe.

As the name emplies, AMELIA COLE AND THE ENEMY UNLEASHED sees the Council come out of the shadows and, after killing the Magistrate, begin to siphon off all of the magic powers on Amelia’s adopted world. Amelia (and Lemmy) and Hector (and the other two surviving members of Omega Company) team up and raise a valiant defense; ultimately, though, the two Protectors are thrown into the other two dimensions: Hector into the non-magic realm; Amelia back to the magic realm.

Which brings us to AMELIA COLE AND THE IMPOSSIBLE FATE. With Amelia back in the magical realm, it doesn’t take long for the gendarme to come a-callin’. Hector, trapped in a world where magic doesn’t exist, is enjoying the simple life with… Amelia’s best friend from that dimension. Back in the third realm, the Council has turned Otysburg into a war zone, with Lemmy, Omega Company and their friends the only resistance. So, now you’re pretty much up to date as we move on to a more in-depth review of Part Two of …THE IMPOSSIBLE FATE.

As the issue begins, Amelia is pondering the unavailability of magic tomes on audiobook; Hector is enjoying a quiet meal with Laura, Amelia’s friend; and their friends back on the blended world have come up with a plan: Since the Council are not too particular about their victims, the group will recruit the entire city – non-mage and mage alike – to wage war against their conquerors. While this issue isn’t as action-packed as most of the previous nineteen, there’s still enough action to keep things interesting: Lemmy and the rest are on the run from the Council and trapped in their own home; Amelia has a run-in with a police officer back at her Aunt Dani’s shop but, eventually, she wins him over to her cause, as they begin a city-wide search for Hector; Hector and Laura are assaulted and, while Hector ineffectively waves his wand at the guy, Laura takes control with some moves she learned in a self-defense class; later, however, Laura is amazed as Hector’s powers return full-strength and he saves a man from certain death.

The rest of the book deals with how everybody is handling being in a very different world than the one they woke up in earlier in the day. The characters, the worlds and the story created by writers Adam P Knave and DJ Kirkbride are all so vibrantly real (yeah… I realize that I just said that about magicians, evil wraiths, dimension travel and golems… but, it’s true), that you get caught up in the story and the lives of these characters and can’t wait for the next issue to get here. Nick Brokenshire’s artwork fits the story perfectly… look closely through all twenty issues and you’ll see sly little nods to some of the comics greats (there are several storefronts with names like Frazetta, Toth and Eisner; the heroic leader of Omega Company is named Kubert) and some very recognizable characters from the big and small screens (Wimpy makes an appearance on a Tuesday; Shaggy shows up in a scene, as does the Monopoly dude; Eddie Murphy’s character from THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and Gene Wilder as Frankenstein appear in a research lab). The supporting cast are each drawn with a specific personality in mind, with no short cuts, especially the brilliantly conceived Lemmy. The various worlds are all familiar enough that they could be this Earth, but with enough differences to let us know that we ain’t in Kansas anymore. Nick colors his own pages (with an occasional assist from Ruiz Moreno), working with a very bright… well, actually, more of a pastel… palette that is extremely effective on this strip, proving that a book like this doesn’t necessarily need to be dark and gloomy (though there are those types of scenes, as well).

And, let’s talk about the depiction of our title character. Amelia isn’t a typical female lead. She isn’t waif thin with an impossibly large bust. She’s just… beautifully average. Amelia Cole is the kind of girl next door that you always had a crush on when you were growing up and the kind of young woman that you could fall deeply in love with and want to be around as much as possible. And, that is definitely one of the things that makes this book so appealing… the fact that the lead character seems so utterly normal and approachable. With the major publishers killing off all of their characters and starting over every few months, you really can’t afford to become too invested in any of those books; the story and art of AMELIA COLE melds beautifully to create one of the best ongoing series that I’ve read in a good little while.

Individual digital issues of AMELIA COLE, as well as the first three six-issue collections are available from Monkeybrain and comixology.com; graphic novels of the first three story arcs, each with unique bonus material, are printed and published through IDW and are available there and from all of the usual suspects. I heartily suggest that you pick up this series from the beginning, in whatever form you like. As the title page of issue 19 says, “If you haven’t, read previous issues. This issue will be here when you’re done… ”