Tag Archives: Fantasy comics

When people think about fantasy literature, often their views are colored by the works of Tolkien (who himself raided North European mythology when crafting his own world). The vast majority of fantasy stories since Tolkien’s time have been populated by dwarves, elves, short humanoids with furry feet and trademarked names, and related critters. But every so often a fantasy writer will go out on a limb and craft something new, either taking elements of lesser-known fantasies (such as from Asia, India or Africa) or sometimes crafting something entirely new as with Elsa Kroese and Charlotte English’s modern fantasy Spindrift.

Spindrift is the story of Morwenna Agenar, a young woman who is a halfblooded member of the Alar and Ildra races – and while on first glance the Alar could be mistaken for elves with their upswept ears and pale features, their Goddess-given ability to summon wings and fly help them stand out from Tolkien’s elves. The Ildrei are even more interesting with horns growing from various parts of their body (differing with each Ildrei) and in one case possessing taloned feet. In some ways I suppose the Alar and Ildrei could be descended from the mythologies of angels and demons (especially as at least some of the Ildrei have the ability to possess and control their descendants), but I suspect any similarities are coincidental.

While Morwenna was born out of love (or at least mutual lust), the Alar and Ildrei don’t hold one another in high regard; Morwenna’s mother Neva ended up leaving her with her brother… and didn’t even have the courage to admit the truth of Morwenna’s heritage (instead claiming she’d slept with a human, though to date we’ve seen no humans in the comic and they likely will remain a background species as the story grows). This has ended up proving unfortunate once Morwenna’s father, Lord Neburas Rugon, learns of her existence and is convinced by his sister Inez to use her in his quest to gain wings for himself and his tribe so he can gain an advantage over his enemies in the Ildrei.

Given that there’s only been 54 pages of story to date (with ten of those the comic’s prologue), the story has actually come along at a fair clip. We’ve already been exposed to the disdain that Morwenna is held to (and her tendency to just ignore it as she learns to be a blacksmith; it’s her cousin Hayden who often takes offense to how she’s treated), and the immediate reaction of Inez upon learning of Morwenna that the halfbreed should be killed… or used. Interestingly, Neburas himself seems to be a more sympathetic character that actually does care for Neva and even for the daughter he’s never known. It’s just his people mean more to him.

As for the path the story will take, the introductory page hints at more than the current storyline with the ldrei’s efforts to gain their own wings (and the cast page includes one character that hasn’t even appeared in the comic at this point). While the comic updates on a weekly schedule, the artwork is striking, while the pacing is far better than the vast majority of its peers; in fact, I suspect Kroese and English have crafted the start of an epic storyline here. Given the update schedule, I suspect it will take several years for the story to be told. As such, now is the best time to start reading, while the archives are still small enough to be read in one sitting.