Creators: Angie Needels, Scott Lambridis, Cyril Helnwein, Amanda Lawhon, Dara Naraghi and Dave Senecal
Published by: Omnibucket
Due: On Sale Now
God’s Acre, Book One: The Ravens and the Rhyme by Angie Needels, Scott Lambridis, Cyril Helnwein, Amanda Lawhon, Dara Naraghi and Dave Senecal is a somewhat experimental book, incorporating photography, sketching, painting and prose to create a disturbing picture book aimed predominantly at adults. The Ravens and the Rhyme stars two young siblings, Norman and Isabel, who are kept away from mainstream society by their grandmother, in old Kruk Manor.
Norman is a protective older brother to Isabel, and Isabel is an excitable little girl with a seemingly overactive imagination. As orphans, Norman feels a need to be overbearing on Isabel, who is now highly attached to her big brother.
Their grandmother, Eudora, having lost her children also feels the need to be overbearing. The sense of loss is everywhere in this book. The story begins as Isabel wakes up Norman so that she can go down to the graveyard, where she says her friends are. Eudora prepares their breakfast and tries to catch a mouse, before a woman shows up at her door to try to get her to enroll her grandchildren in school. After a confrontation, Eudora slams the door in her face.
Meanwhile, in the graveyard, the kids meet a strange man. The man begins to regale them with a tale of a man and his ravens, which leaves Norman feeling too creeped out to hear anymore.
The art and prose work together throughout, depicting emotions and adding to the atmosphere of the story. Some dialogue and sound effects are drawn into the art which the text is wrapped around, and it works brilliantly at times.
The dialogue seems natural, for the most part, and Isabel’s occasional lisp is a nice touch. The book is littered with believable character moments and drama that makes for an interesting read. The characters seem real, even if the environment and plot aspects are extraordinary. Some of the plot aspects and dialogue do seem forced, but it can still make sense if you’re willing to suspend disbelief enough.
The story gradually becomes more disturbing throughout, which is made even more unsettling by the false sense of security created by the often beautiful and child-like imagery. This may not go over well with some, as it may take you out of the story if it becomes too much.
The photographs are wonderfully lit, and well posed. Everyone is expressionless outside of the paintings and drawings. This lack of changing expressions is strange, but it adds to the melancholy tone to the piece.
The title had me thinking that the book would have more religious overtones than it did, but the title is merely the name of the graveyard that the children visit. There is a much broader sense of belief expressed in the book and this makes for some intersing juxtapositions.
One complaint I might have with the book is that the plot does not get very far in this first book. It’s nice that they spend so much time building the characters, but the story could go much further if some of the scenes were edited. That said, I like the pacing of the book for the most part.
As a prose story, I would say that it is very well written, if shorter than it should be. The artwork is stunning. The subject matter may not be for everyone’s taste, but I give them points for the execution. God’s Acre is off to an interesting start with The Ravens and the Rhyme.
- Danielle Lavigne is a teenaged writer who resides in Dublin, Ireland. She is passionate about writing, art, style, and nearly all forms of media, particularly comic books. She hopes to one day make a decent living writing comics so as to avoid the long-prophecised "actual work".