Xylia: A Faerie Tale is the latest work of Barb Jacobs, the former artist of the fantasy comic Talismen. While I must admit to some disappointment that Talismen succumbed to hiatus, it is a definite pleasure to see Jacobs drawing again, and this time telling her own story. And while we’ve not yet had enough updates to get a true gist of what is going on here, what we’ve seen hints at a story that promises to be fascinating.

Unfortunately, the prologue is in some ways rushed. Jacobs even admits this in her notes at the start of the comic, talking about the psychiatric diagnosis for Charles in which he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It might have worked better to insert a comic before the diagnosis mentioning the behavioral issues that were left out in the prologue that led to his diagnosis. Seeing that the psychiatric issues are perhaps secondary to the story and to its beginning, I can understand why it was left out. Still, it is often better to show rather than tell, even if it increases the length of time spent telling a story.

Jacobs continues to be on the top of her game artistically, with a style that was polished in her previous work (and which is distinctive enough that I quickly realized I’d seen her work before). But while her pencils and character designs are better than many professional print comics, it’s Jacobs’ work with colors and lighting that truly helps her work stand out even amidst the multitude of webcomics out there. The combination of fantastic artwork and a story that teases with enough hints of what is to come to catch your interest without giving everything away makes this a comic definitely worth watching.