A comiXologist Recommends (something whimsical and energetic)

MIRROR #1 by Emma Rios and Hwei Lim

“…I look around at my fellow men and I am reminded of some likeness of the beast-people, and I feel as though the animal is surging up in them. And I know they are neither wholly animal nor holy man, but an unstable combination of both.” - The Island of Dr. Moreau, H.G. Wells

I wouldn’t say that Mirror is heading in Dr. Moreau’s direction, but I would say it made me wonder about the humanity of these animals-turned-people and the lack thereof for those who made them.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Mirror #1 introduces us to Ivan, a mage who knows what feels right and is trying to do the right thing even if it hurts; Sena, man’s best friend as a dog becoming man’s best friend as an almost-human revolutionary; and the humans and animals that make up the colony of Irzah. There’s also Kazbek, the morally gray mage who seems torn between duty, loyalty, and doing the wrong things for the right reasons…or perhaps it’s the other way around. Zun takes lab rat and lab assistant to the next level and often steals the scene with her sweetness and empathy.

Speaking of lab rats, Mirror maintains its magic with mages and talking animals but approaches it with science. None of that wand waving here. This is magic ingrained in the very foundations of life, where scientific experimentation merges with a world built on the bones of impossibility.

I’m excited to see where it goes as the first issue is very much a teaser for the fascinating world Pretty Deadly writer Emma Rios and artist Hwei Lim created. Lim’s art is whimsical and energetic in both style and layout. She brings the loose unpredictability of watercolor into her digital artwork resulting in bright pages full of color and negative space that keeps the eye moving. Her use of pattern and light make each page vibrant and exciting. In the second story, writer and artist switch places, but this team matches so well together that the issue remains cohesive.

Mirror #1 leaves me with a lot of questions that I need answered because I’m already attached to these characters. It leaves you with my encouragement to read the first issue because there’s a promise in these pages for a great adventure.

Jen Keith is the Captain of the Digital Editors at comiXology, comic artist, music addict, and could write sonnets about the art in this book but will spare you.