Review -- The Book Of Sorrow

The Book of Sorrow
Art by Tim Hall
Written by Jason Phillips
Indie

To say I was at first blown away by, and slightly confused by the storyline in The Book of Sorrow would not be an understatement.
Actually in the world of comic book stories I am quite satisfied when a story has the level of complexity that I have to think my way through it, and Jason Phillips makes you think here.
The good thing is that once you fall into the dream world Phillips is building the story around, you find a deliciously malevolent world, filled with nastiness, and yet there is always the side of good which holds out the promise things will work out … although I’m not sure as this story moves forward it’s going to be a victory without its share of casualties.
Against the back drop of the battle in the dream world is a love story, which while the reason the war rages, takes a backseat to the action over the first two issues of this excellent series.
Interwoven into the story are memorable, albeit dark characters like the dangerous jester Despair, and the powerful Grieve.
While a dark story, Tim Hall said the influence was still life.
“Our own personal lives are the underlining engine that drive the story,” he said, adding “outside influences from movies, art, and music help to create the fiction that surrounds it.”
Coming from life, or not, the book took time to coalesce into written form.
“We worked on the initial idea for about two-years,” said Hall. “Neither of us have a ton of time on our hands so when we would get together we would just talk comics and listen to music. We did not want to develop anything that did not have reasoning behind it. We've always hated those ‘just because’ story lines. Because of this it took a little time to figure out were we wanted to go.”
Hall said the characters are an element where they looked inward for inspiration.
“Most of the main characters designs and back stories come from their own personal trials within the world of absolution,” he said. “Every character originated from thinking about how a real person would react in these extra ordinary situations. Some of these characters are reflections of people that have touched our own lives. Secondary characters mainly come from functionality. Most of the characters in our book were thought up by thinking about, ‘how would this work?’ Once you think like that things just kind of fall into place.”
Interestingly, in general terms Hall said as a co-creator, what he reads is not his biggest influence.
“I would say music is probably my primary influence,” he said, adding “a few writers that have influenced me are Clive Barker, not just his novels but also his intricate views on how art is created. James O'barr because he was really the first comic book creator that showed me comics could be more than superheros. David Mack because of his ability to use this medium to showcase his own emotional stories through artistic metaphor. Finally Shakespeare was a big influence on the narrative sections of the book.”
A perfect match to the story is the art provided by Tim Hall, who is also the series co-creator with Phillips.
Hall uses a dramatic, style for the stunning black and white art which immediately draws attention.
I particularly like how he tones down the art with softer shading hen dealing with the ‘real world’ love story, then uses a heavier pen stroke in shading the art on the other side of the veil. It creates a noticeable difference between the worlds which works well since they have a decidedly different dramatic atmosphere.
Hall and Phillips have worked together on The Book of Sorrow from the start.
“At first, just like the story, we literally sat in a room and I drew as Jason sat there looking over my shoulder,” said Hall. “And we would go over everything together. This book is very much the two of us. Later once things got started I continued to draw and would show pages to Jason, as they were being done, to get an opinion on layouts and style. I know he has a vision for the book as do I and I am adamant about capturing both.
Hall said he draws his art influences from a broad spectrum of creators and artists.
“Most of my influences come from various places like movies, music, comics, video games, and art,” he said. “To name a few artist that have inspired me, James O'barr, David Mack, Jason Shawn Alexander, Greg Capullo, Kerry Gammill, CP Smith, James Jean, Random unknowns that I've seen here and there but do not know their names, and the list goes on and on.
“I like a lot of different styles and I think you can take things from all of them. If you ever get to the point were you only like this one guy then your style will probably start looking like that one guy. Having multiple influences really helps to keep your style your own.”
The co-creators are rightfully proud of their effort on Book of Sorrow to-date, and they promise more to come.
“So far we are proud of how it looks and we feel like we have made a major step towards a style that is uniquely our own,” said Hall. “The look is an ever-changing process expect a slight change in style in issue three.
“Acceptance has been surprising because we have only been promoting at our local shop. The audience seems to range from all different types. We have not tried to grab one particular group. With any type of art, you are really trying to produce something that you yourself are pleased with, never thinking about what appeals to others. All you can do is hope people appreciate what you've created afterwards.”
Hall said there is certainly more to come for the title, but he is not releasing any secrets.
“Expect many issues to come,” he said. “We don't want to give away any major plot points so all we can say is there is a lot in store.”
The Book of Sorrow may be dark, but one that you should mark as must read material. A top indie offering which deserve a broad audience.
For more information check out www.thebookofsorrow.com
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra