Fish is one of Nobrow’s 17x23 graphic short project. It’s supposed to be a springboard for up and coming creators for more ambitious projects. Of the ones I’ve read, I’ve liked in varying degrees. The bottom line is that I’ve liked them all and Fish is no exception. Fish is a story about a young boy dealing with the loss of his parents and looking for some kind of closure, even if he doesn’t realize it. He’s now being raised by his grandparents and spending time with his cousins that of course he’s having a hard time relating to. He also doesn’t really like seafood and I can’t blame him there. That's not really a huge part of the story, just something that I want to say on the record.
I feel like there was a deeper meaning to the story that either didn’t quite present itself or that I missed. It’s not a bad story and I do really get the point and like the ending. There’s just some scenes in between all that, that were lost on me. I couldn’t quite see their importance to the narrative, but they didn’t make me enjoy the story less.
The dialogue and narration is well written. Especially the narration which presents a teen boy dealing with death in a realistic way. There’s a lot going on in his head and creator Bianca Bagnarelli captures that on the page.
Bagnarelli also does the art for the story and that was by far my favorite thing about the book. The line work is very detailed. It had a style to it though and I couldn’t quite place what it reminded me of, but it reminded me of something for sure. I guess that’s a good thing for art, for it to look familiar, but remain mysterious. The coloring is what really makes the book stand out. My goodness is the coloring great. It puts a lot of “professional” comics to shame. It still baffles me how the industry as a whole settles for mediocre coloring, when great coloring elevates the art which in turn elevates the story as well. As represented on the cover there’s a lot of pink and purple hues used throughout the story. It gives it a great look and makes the characters stand out on the page.
What I enjoy about Nobrow’s 17x23 series is that it introduces me to new creators. Knowing Bagnarelli’s work now, I’m looking forward to more and would gladly check out anything she’s attached to. If you’re looking for a one-shot story that’s a step above other publisher’s one-shots, then look no further than Fish.
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Fish Creator: Bianca Bagnarelli Publisher: Nobrow Press Price: $11.00 Release Date: Format: One-Shot; Print [button btn_url="http://nobrow.net/" btn_color="primary" btn_size="large" btn_style="square" btn_outlined="no" link_target="self" link_rel="nofollow" icon_left="" icon_right=""]Website[/button]