Review -- MILLENNIA WAR

Millennia War
Created & Written by Ashley A. Woods
Art by Ashley A. Woods
Indie
Combining elements of fantasy into a modern day setting requires a creative vision that is not easily realized.
Ashley A. Woods does an excellent job of carrying it off in her series Millennia War.
The storyline has elves actually existing. They have been pushed to the fringes by past conflict. Not surprisingly they aren’t real happy with the situation.
As a result of an age old conflict which seems to percolating to the surface again, this is a story of political intrigue as much as anything.
Five issues into the series there are more questions being unveiled than answers, which certainly makes the reader want to be around as Woods starts filling in the blanks.
As a storyteller, it is rather obvious Woods has a long-term vision of where she is going with the story. She has an excellent sense of timing with her writing. She is taking her time letting out the story a little at a time, not rushing things for the sake of climactic effect.
Of course Woods worked with the idea for Millennia War for two years before getting it to publication, so she should have a rather detailed vision.
“I began conceptualizing early 2004, round March or April, and kept refining the look and story of Millennia War until I finally published it March of 2006,” she said. “I didn't sell the first copies (issue #0) until May 2006 …
“Back in early 2004, I began drawing random designs for characters and I started becoming attached to them. So I created a story that would link all of their personal stories together. I was always a big fan of fantasy and action genres and I wanted to express that in my own story, too.”
As for her writing, Woods said she uses a number of influences to inspire her work.
“I like to study different storytelling styles in video games, anime, and movies and try to put what I learned into my own work or even take it a step further and create a whole different style for myself,” she said.
The art has a subdued, almost watercolour feel to it, which works well since the story is in a sense subdued as well. The use of muted, generally earth tone colours is also a nice touch given the connection to nature being brought to the forefront as the story of the elves is brought into tighter focus.
Again, there is an intimacy to the art work that tells you Woods has had a detailed idea for the story visually as well.
“I get inspired by my friends and even strangers,” said Woods. “I like to people watch so I try to study different characteristics they may have. I also gather inspiration from different artists Joshua Middleton, Jo Chen, Hiroaki Samura, as well as various anime such as Eureka Seven and Fullmetal Alchemist.”
Carrying both the writing and the art, Woods said both can prove the most challenging aspect of the book at different times.
“It depends on my mood,” she said. “Lately drawing has been harder for me, but I think it's because I've been spending a lot of time coloring that it feels weird for me to try to sketch at times. However during times like these I still force myself to take time out and draw a little so my hand won't continue to feel weird.
“Sometimes writing is harder for me but every once in a while the ideas come flowing out into my notebook so freely which of course gets me fired up even more to give those ideas form in my comics.”
As the book’s creator Woods said she is generally satisfied with Millennia War so far.
“In some ways yes but I know and feel that I can always become better,” she said. “I use every issue of Millennia War to practice my art.
“A lot of people have taken notice to this, too, and even come tell me how my art has gotten better with each issue. It lets me know that I'm doing something right.”
This is an excellent comic series that doesn’t fit into the mainstream because of the more ‘story’ oriented approach. This is not superheros, nor horror, nor comedy. While not fitting the traditional comic sub genres, it is definitely worth reading for those wanting something different, something more cerebral from a comic read.
The official site for the series, www.millenniawar.com
There, you can purchase copies of the comics, as well as read character bios, take a sneak peek at upcoming issues, and visit Woods’ blog to see more of her art and pics of various conventions she attends.
— CALVIN DANIELS

-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra