Finnian and the Lousy Customer (A review of Finnian and the Seven Mountains Volume 1)

I remember when the first issue of Finnian and the Seven Mountains came out. I wanted to buy it but didn't. I ordered it on Amazon a long time after that. I am the worst comics customer in the world. Anyway, I read the first issue and liked it. My kids read the first issue and wanted more.

And, many years later… l finally managed to buy the collection from Voyage. Again, I'm the worst comics customer in the world. But I improved, eh? I bought from Voyage, not Amazon. 

Now, about the book. Here's the description from the Voyage comics website:

“Seeking to avenge the death of his parents at the hands of Viking marauders, a young man named Finnian leaves his monastic school in Ireland to find a legendary sword rumored to have the extraordinary power to defeat evil. 

Join writer Philip Kosloski, and artists Michael LaVoy, Jay David Ramos (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN) and Jim Fern (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN ANNUAL, and CROSSING MIDNIGHT) on an epic journey that begins on the mysterious island of Skellig Michael, where the sword was last seen.

Will Finnian find the mythical sword and lead the way to victory? Or will the Vikings continue to destroy innocent villagers?

Find out what happens in this epic adventure series!”

Now for my review: I'm not sure if Philip Kosloski has ever written comics before. But he doesn't fall for the usual pitfalls you see in new comics writers and even some old comics writers. The dialogue is not overly verbose. The story is solid and progresses naturally. 

I do have a few criticisms, though. While, generally, the pacing and the art are good, I noticed a few problems. There are two areas in chapter 2 where the pacing is a little off. Pages 42 and 44, to be exact. 

Page 42 deals with a Griffin attack. There are just too many vantage points used in the illustration of the scene. The overuse of these vantage points disrupts the flow of the story. What's more, there's a punch line on the page, which, after the reader trips through the clunky transitions, cannot be enjoyed. 

Page 44 employs a staple of comic book history. The usual purpose of a page like this is to incorporate the story so far into the main story. This way, new readers know what's going on in the story. There are numerous ways of going about this. When it's pulled off well, it's hardly noticeable. On page 44 of Finnian, it is very noticeable. It is executed in the form of an awkwardly wedged-in conversation. If you skip it, the book works very well without it. 

All things considered, the ratio of two suboptimal pages out of a 104 page trade paperback is not that bad. One overarching problem, however, is the artwork.

The artwork is frequently stiff. This is most apparent in the characters' faces. We especially see this when a character is producing some strong emotion. It's reminiscent of old illustrations on the covers of Babysitter's club books. I tried to see if my kids picked up on this, but they never mentioned it. Maybe it's something you don't notice at a certain age. Maybe that's why kids bought those Babysitter's club books in the past.

So, in general, Finnian and Seven Mountains is a good trade paperback. I look forward to buying more Voyage comics. I look forward to seeing if all of the ineffectual pacing and stiff illustration gets ironed out in the future. With robot generated AI comics coming around the bend, we definitely need more organic pacing and loose illustration in Catholic comics. “God help us all, in the future.”

P.S.- I'll try to be a better comic buyer.

-George Tautkus 

Tautkus Studio

You can purchase Finnian and the Seven Mountains Vol.1 at The Voyage comics site.