Kanu’s Trek issue 1.
Writing and Art by Justin Walker.
Colours by Nikolai Radivojev.
Cover by Teodoro Gonzalez and Justin Walker.
Published by King Ball Comics - 24 pages - Full Colour.
£1.99 on ComiXology
Released 18/9/2019.
The Story - ‘Kanu's Trek is a tale about a man who leaves his home, a crumbling Utopia, in search of a mythic forest out in the vast wastelands. He encounters an entity partly of his own making, and through their conversation, Kanu is able to reflect on his past and make tough decisions about his future.’
The Review -. This was another find on ComiXology and for a change is at a fairly reasonable price. The cover is a strange one as it doesn’t seem to reflect what is inside and also isn’t really of a design that automatically makes you click on it/reach for it. Something that shows the reader more what they are likely to get from the book would be a much better way to go in my opinion. The text also suffers from being a little illegible too. An easy fix for issue 2 I’m guessing.
I have to admit that after taking a random and blind punt on a comic this was an interesting/intriguing surprise. It is a slow character driven narrative that basically revolves about an older man in a desert talking to a pile of rocks. It shows a meditative reverence to the situation that this man named Kanu and the world around him has fallen hard into. In fact many of the panels are focused on the lined and bearded face of Kanu who quietly utters his lines whilst unsure if he is going mad. But he remains an attention grabbing study. He is also at moments both spiritually contemplative and prone to acts of sudden violence.
A warning though is relevant here too. There isn’t much that happens in this launch issue. It also takes a while to figure out what is going on and why .... but that is kind of why I enjoyed it so much. If you are in the right mood this will stretch your investigative process and be pleasing with some fresh panels layouts and a great digitally coloured set palette.
A plague has hit the planet. But what is the source of this plague. Could it be a plague of consumerism? Or war? Or anger? Or greed? This place is called ‘Utolp’ been seems a long way from a Utopia. This harsh reality clashes in this slowly told but never boring exploration of where we might go next as a race.
The art is strong and colourful with a small nod to Manga and indie underground comix mixed together. It has scope and the world feels fresh and has a mysterious reality to even that talking stone circle.
This was a small little gem in a sea of ComiXology Submit that I will be checking back on.
You can find out more by visiting the King Ball publishers page on ComiXology here https://www.comixology.co.uk/King-Ball-Comics/comics-publisher/17164-0?ref=c2VyaWVzL3ZpZXcvZGVza3RvcC9wdWJsaXNoZXJJbmZv
Many thanks for reading.
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