REVIEW: 'Feathers' #1 by Jorge Corona

Going into the release of Feathers #1 from Archaia (BOOM! Studios) this week we knew the art would be fantastic. Writer/artist Jorge Corona is currently doing stunning work on Image Comics' Goners (with writer Jacob Semahn) and now with this book he's added a charming and mysterious new all-ages book to his resume.

The tale of a young boy born with feathers is found by a transient of the Maze, a creepy slum just outside the white walls of the pristine kingdom, and raised as his own son. The young boy has a charming curiosity and bravery beyond his years, but is kept in check by his overprotective surrogate father. The two scrounge for food and for things to sell as the denizens of the Maze are poor but working class. 

It's a life far different from the one behind the walls in the kingdom where a young girl named Bianca yearns to be free and find adventure. Of course her parents and rulers of this realm look down on the poor and downtrodden of the Maze and it's the last place they'd want their daughter scurrying around. 

Their harsh assessment of the slums isn't entirely without some truth. There are thieves and even a mysterious figure who abducts children so there is some danger among the disenfranchised folks of the Maze.

Soon Poe the boy with feathers and Bianca cross paths, setting off an adventure for the both of them. Corona has a great cartoonish style that enlivens his characters with personality,  whether it's wonder in the face of the children or disgust in the faces of Bianca's parents the message is conveyed effortlessly with a stroke of a pencil. His cityscapes are semi-gothic with great detail and contrast extremely well against the paleness of the kingdom in the background. It's a softer Mignola-style that helps take the reader away to this not-so-enchanted land. 

Feathers may cover some ground we've seen before where adventurous youngsters from different sides of the tracks bond together in the face of danger and adversity but it has rarely looked this good or been so charming.