The Aria (Distant Soil, Book 3)

Rating:
Summary: Series continues to improve.
Review: Colleen Doran, A Distant Soil III: The Aria (Image, 2001)

A Distant Soil gets better as it gets older. The focus which was notably absent from the first book has gradually appeared, and the characters are getting more complex as time goes on. If you managed to forgive the first volume its errors of judgment, continuing on with the story of Jason and Liana is warranted.

In this episode, Jason, who's been brainwashed by the resistance, is about to kill Seren, the avatar, as we open-- except that Seren is also Rieken, the head of the resistance, and... oh, why bother? It's like trying to describe the plot of a soap opera. (In fact, it IS describing the plot of a soap opera.) Read the first two, you'll get up to speed. This one's a decent continuation of what came before. At this rate, Book Four, when it finally comes out, will be the best graphic novel of the year. ***

Rating:
Summary: An epic story masterfully told and beautifully illustrated.
Review: For reasons completely unfathomable to me, the publisher has not posted a photo of the cover to A DISTANT SOIL: THE ARIA. More's the pity, since the full color wraparound cover that adorns this trade paperback is a beaut -- in fact, it's so striking that Ms. Doran has published it as an 18 x 24-inch full color art print, which speaks volumes about its visual appeal. Since you have not even a photo to look at, and, inexplicably, only one other review to date by which to judge it, let me tell you what you need to know about this epic story, its creator and, specifically, this book.
First, it's fair to say that "A Distant Soil" is Colleen Doran's best known, longest running work that has stood the test of time. Originally published as a comic book from another publisher, "A Distant Soil" is now published as a comic book from Image Comics and collected by Image in these graphic collections. Second, it's fair to say that "A Distant Soil" is Colleen Doran's THE LORD OF THE RINGS. That is to say, it's her epic fantasy that demanded to be told, in the same way that Tolkien's popular trilogy imposed its own demands on its creator, a tale that took years in the telling. That said, you should know that this book is the third in the series, with more in the works. The end, Colleen tells us, is in sight . . . but for now, here's the latest compilation: a sturdily bound, beautifully printed trade paperback with a synopsis to bring the new reader up to date -- though, in truth, it'll whet your appetite for the first and second volumes -- and pages and pages of beautiful pen-and-ink art that shows off Colleen's draftsmanship and fine line work, with occasional full-page illustrations drawn from the covers of the previously published comic books.
Graphic novels (now reviewed simply as "Comics" by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY) have come into their own, at a time when the public can, I think, fully appreciate them: We live in an increasingly visual world, so storytelling that combines words and art make perfect sense, as does the graphic novel format. In other words, graphic novels have come of age.
As a long-time comic book fan -- I cut my teeth on silver-age Marvels when they were originally published in the sixties -- I appreciate good draftsmanship, solid storytelling, and a commitment to a storyline that spans years; this is, clearly, the work of a creator with passion. If you haven't bought a graphic novel lately -- or, in fact, have never bought one -- you cannot go wrong in buying this third collection; it will almost certainly make you go back to the bookstore to buy the first and second, but it most certainly will show you that works of imagination and wonder are best produced by solitary creators with a vision, as Colleen Doran and A DISTANT SOIL amply prove.

Rating:
Summary: Fulfilling Fantasy For The Mind & Eyes
Review: I am just absolutely captivated by the A Distant Soil series. I own the original 1987 book and 1989's Knights of the Angel. Not only does Colleen feed your mind with the story, but your eyes with the illustrations!! For those who don't already own it, I highly suggest trying to find it. I already have Amazone.com searching for 1997's The Gathering.

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE this book!!!!!
Review: I love this book. I LOVE this book. Did I tell you I love this book? Aside from the fact that the art gets more gorgeous every issue, the men are sexy, the women are believable as well as beautiful, the costumes and sets are amazing, the story blows me away as well! In A DISTANT SOIL: THE ARIA, the secret of the rebel leader Rieken is revealed to his companions and though they are very understandably displeased to have been deceived, they have no choice but to continue to follow him. The confrontation with the Hierarchy had a COMPLETELEY UNEXPECTED ending, and the quiet drama of the last few pages of this book is chilling. Best characterization I have ever seen drawn by a comic artist. Ever. Watch the scene with the bonzai tree at the end. It will freeze your blood. Can't WAIT for the next book!

Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than Its Original Beginnings
Review: I saw this when it was first published (it seems like one hundred years ago) in the later Elfquests as a "teaser" and
then as a heavily edited B&W produced by Elfquest's WaRP Comics.
Didn't like it and now I know why: someone else was rewriting the whole story, adding in excessive "explanatory dialogue" and (I can't be sure on this last one) editing out whole chunks of plot that rendered the storyline beyond senseless.

I lost track of the comic (and actually, I lost interest in a lot of science fiction/fantasy over time). When I found it here again I decided "Well, maybe she'll get to finish it this time."

And what a thrill it was to read. I went through all three books within hours of receiving them. Although there's nothing really new under the sun here, what Doran does with her familiar plot elements is phenomenal. Her lovers of varying lifestyles are funny without being pretentiously hip and precious. The plot twists so many times it would give you a headache if you weren't so fascinated to see where it will twist again. And I'm glad to learn (FINALLY) how the character of Galahad fits into the puzzle. There's a minimum of caption explanations which suggests Doran is confidant enough (unlike the editors at WaRP) in her audience to let them figure out what's happening by "watching" the action and "listening" to the dialogue. Because of that, the illustrations seem cleaner and more professional than the original. I cannot wait for the fourth book, which I believe is the last book.

If you like graphic novels and enjoy science fantasy/soap opera with a lot of suspense/humor/romance/horror--you should like this.

And while I have to agree with another writer that the final bonsai tree scene is enough to chill the blood, Book III's hover car chase (with the the pyrotechnics) is as good as any in the best action movies (and certainly as good as the hovercraft race in Star Wars I.). Good job, Colleen!!!