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haaris's review
3.0
Aspyrus is a silent comic about this monster who makes people run all their lives in search of the next elusive goal. It's the creator of consumerism and unhealthy obsession. And as a comic, it's pretty facile. For me it read like a boring cautionary tale on the fruitlessness of desire. Quite preachy. The artwork is good.
khepiari's review
4.0
Desire has domino effect, who knows it better than the inhabitants of Halahala. The second based based in the Halahala universe has more greed and less grim, but it is scary none the less.
As the blurb reads; the mercurial terrain of Halahala faces the ultimate threat: a dream creature from another realm that spreads its tentacles across the world. Indeed we question what will happen now?
Divided into three parts, with creatures of odd imagination and anatomy spread across the pages. The land and it's dwellers are ravaged by a newborn dream, a dream so large that consumes the dreamer. Eventually the the dream outgrows the first dreamer and becomes so big that it engulfs everyone both in low and high places.
On the suburbs of Dream City, a young boy falls for the dream creature's apparition and it's neverending chase that we see through the pages. We see erosion of his nativity to that of man who is forever stuck in the loop of desire, aspiring something he can't have.
My favourite panel was explosion of the television labyrinth where this man is overwhelmed by his desire for white-skinned beauty from fairness cream ads. There are Stories within story that critique on consumption, fickle nature of attraction and relationships, advertisment driven consumerism that sets high standards of beauty and lifestyle.
What I loved was the story of our little heroine. The warrior that goes to school, where worshiping the dream without imagination is taught, but she breaks free from manipulation, fights temptation to save Halahala. Her features were mangaesque, but she got the most amazing fighting panels. Each panel and page so detailed that you have to stare at them for a while.
There is lack of breathing space in later part of the book, would have loved more use of blank space and soft colours. For a silent graphic novel there is enough use elemental noise in its background. Art wise this is my favourite Halahala book, we can call it an album with so many things and styles happening in the pages.
As the blurb reads; the mercurial terrain of Halahala faces the ultimate threat: a dream creature from another realm that spreads its tentacles across the world. Indeed we question what will happen now?
Divided into three parts, with creatures of odd imagination and anatomy spread across the pages. The land and it's dwellers are ravaged by a newborn dream, a dream so large that consumes the dreamer. Eventually the the dream outgrows the first dreamer and becomes so big that it engulfs everyone both in low and high places.
On the suburbs of Dream City, a young boy falls for the dream creature's apparition and it's neverending chase that we see through the pages. We see erosion of his nativity to that of man who is forever stuck in the loop of desire, aspiring something he can't have.
My favourite panel was explosion of the television labyrinth where this man is overwhelmed by his desire for white-skinned beauty from fairness cream ads. There are Stories within story that critique on consumption, fickle nature of attraction and relationships, advertisment driven consumerism that sets high standards of beauty and lifestyle.
What I loved was the story of our little heroine. The warrior that goes to school, where worshiping the dream without imagination is taught, but she breaks free from manipulation, fights temptation to save Halahala. Her features were mangaesque, but she got the most amazing fighting panels. Each panel and page so detailed that you have to stare at them for a while.
There is lack of breathing space in later part of the book, would have loved more use of blank space and soft colours. For a silent graphic novel there is enough use elemental noise in its background. Art wise this is my favourite Halahala book, we can call it an album with so many things and styles happening in the pages.
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