Colonia Volume One: Islands and Anomalies
By Jeff Nicholson
Published by AiT-Planetlar
Here is a cracking adventure tale that takes its inspiration from Herge's Tintin and Scott McCloud's Zot to create an appealing tale of sea pirates, a talking duck, and a young boy who is lost in time, but utterly capable of rolling with the surreal punches.
I know Nicholson as the creator of Through the Habitrails, a book I've never read but have read good things about. I was intrigued by the cover of this volume, which speaks of good-natured oddness with an astonishing clarity. Good-natured oddness with an astonishing clarity is what Colonia is all about, as the young hero Jack finds himself variously held prisoner on a pirate ship, in secret partnership with a talking duck that lays eggs made of gold, and discerns enough about the twisted history he finds himself in to be able to turn the tables on those who are out to coerce him into a lifetime of forced labour.
All these elements and more speak of a story that could easily meander off into strange and confusing digressions, but Nicholson keeps the narrative squarely focused on Jack (much like Herge generally did with Tintin), and we experience the strange and wonderful world of Colonia through him. Much like you'd expect from a real kid his age, Jack doesn't really despair his fate or try to find a way out of the strangeness that surrounds him; instead, he comes to take delight in the differences from the world he left behind, and he comes to embrace Colonia.
Part of the reason Jack becomes so comfortable so quickly, I think, is the companionship and assistance offered by Lucy, a talking duck. Far from removing the reader from the suspension of disbelief, Lucy's desire to "Leave the duck life behind" and experience life as a human is totally believable and one of the more compelling threads of this story. Lucy, in fact, quickly became my favourite character, and I grew impatient awaiting her return in the sequences from which she is absent. As Dave Barry might say, I swear I am not making this up.
This is a full-service graphic novel, with a full run-down of the other excellent AiT-Planetlar titles on the inside front cover, a generous collection of sketches and related articles (and book reviews!) in the back, and a handy order form by means of which you can further acquaint yourself with Nicholson's other works.
Full of gorgeous black and white cartooning, a sardonic wit and amusing, individualistic characters (there's that Tintin feel again), Colonia is a joy to experience. The first five issues are reprinted here, and as you might expect from a rollicking adventure of this stripe, the ending promises much, much more adventure to come. You'd be nuts not to sign on for the next leg of the journey.