Well, this one suckered me right in.Mystic gets off to a great start with that wonderful Amanda Conner cover - you can tell the nature of the two lead characters just by their expressions!
I haven't read any of the previous comics from CrossGen with this title - and I don't think I've ever run into work by any of the rest of the creative team involved - writer G. Willow Wilson, penciler David Lopex, inker Alvaro Lopez or colorist Nathan Fairbairn - but I hope to see more of their work in the future.
That's because this issue is just a heck of a lot of fun. It follows a fairly well-worn story: a couple of young women long to escape from an orphanage where they are treated badly by the wicked woman who runs the place, but many obstacles are in the way.
Nothing really unexpected happens as the basic story rolls along (although there are lots of surprises in the setting and the mechanics of this world) - but it's all told with a feisty, energetic take - and the lead characters are a delight.
The dark-haired Giselle is impetuous but pragmatic, and is always pushing Genvieve, the smart dreamer, into taking chances.
I really like the art - it's not overly dramatic, but it's focused on the emotions and the expressions of the lead characters, which helps make them that much more attractive and interesting.
It's a fantasy setting (of sorts), but the characters "feel" real - and that's not an easy trick to manage.
I wasn't expecting much out of this issue - so what a delight to find an entertaining story with some good twists on an old tale. Recommended!
Grade: A-
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