Okko: The Cycle of Water #2

This is the second issue of four in Hub's Okko, a Samurai fantasy tale set in the mythical island nation of Pajan, a setting strongly reminiscent of feudalist Japan, with a rich mythology and history. Like The Killer, it is a translation of a French series, but apart from quality, that is the only similarity they share.

The story centres around Okko the ronin, and his small band consisting of a huge masked warrior named Noburo who seems unkillable, a drunken monk named Noshin, and a young boy, Tikku, who has pledged his life to Okko. In this issue the group, who are in pursuit of the boy's older sister, a geisha who was kidnapped in the previous issue, are led to a casino in a small pirate port. They narrowly miss finding the girl, but discover in the casino's basement the evidence of the bloody fate that befell a number of other kidnapped girls, who for some reason did not meet expectations. Fortunately, after some persuasion, the establishment's proprietor points the band in the direction of the next leg of their journey.

Hub's writing in this book is well above the average for comic books, and is not limited to text within the panels, but also gives some background to the world's leading families in a page at the end of the comic. This is not necessary reading, but provides some additional backdrop to the story. My only complaint is that it would have been nice to see some more interaction between the members of Okko's band, in order for the reader to get a better grip on their characters, and the group dynamic overall.

The art style employed here is excellent, and very reminiscent of the best of Japanese anime. Hub makes great use of colour, dark blues for the port at night, strong red for the interior of the casino, and lush greens for the strange forested island the band lands on later in the book. All of the scenes show great detail, and they are never confusing as to what is taking place.

This is another great series from Archaia, an indy studio who, to my continuing bafflement, don't seem to recieve much public recognition. If you have any interest in fantasy, or Japanese culture or animation, this book would be well worth your time and money.

Rating: 4/5