By Sam King

Isola #3 adds a little of the magic mystery back and moves things along, but does not fully clear up just what is going on. We get some more information about Rook’s past and a little about the current situation in the land, but not a whole lot more. This is a slow burn kind of story so far, in which it seems like we are supposed to be invested in the journey, not just the ultimate goal. 

This third issue picks up where last issue left off. Rook and Olwyn, the queen turned tiger, are currently separated. Olwyn is off with the kooky old hermit from last time, and Rook is having to deal with the band of ruffians she encountered. There are hints that Olwyn and Rook may be a little more invested in one another than we originally may have believed, not just simply a royal and her guard. We also get a look at some mystical animal headed beings in Moro. I’m started to think that the old hermit is actually named Pring and that Moro is a village in the mystical forest and swamp area where the animal-headed people are. Olwyn seems to be having visions, and at the start of this issue, she has a very foreboding one that unsettles her. We finally see what she looks like as a full human, instead of a tiger, which is good for any who hadn’t read the online prologue to the series. 

The head ruffian seems to know a lot about Rook and her mom. In order to know more, he wants Rook to tell him Olwyn’s whereabouts. We don’t know why or how this guy knows the things he does about Rook, but I get the feeling we may find out later on. There is turmoil between the land Rook came from, and where they are heading, so Rook’s cover about the tiger being a gift ends up being unraveled very quickly by the head ruffian. As of right now, we have no idea who the animal-headed people are. We just see them, so there has been no interaction to let us know more about them. By the end of the issue, I ended up with many more questions than answers.

The art is still crisp, and we get some more of the magical panels and tones that I had greatly enjoyed in issue #1. In this issue, there is also a lot of tonal variation when it comes to the art since multiple settings and actions are going on in different places. Each section has a different scheme and tone, from Rook’s interaction with the ruffians to Olwyn’s vision and her entering Moro with Pring. I liked the color variation in this issue a lot. It helped with a lot of the transitions. This time there is also some panel variation towards the end, which makes for an increased visual experience at the conclusion.

Overall, I found this issue to be more enjoyable than the previous one. There was a bit more going on, but it was also more balanced and quick moving than last time. Some of the visual elements introduced here would be interesting to know more about, so I hope they come back next issue. I also hope we get some more action kick up. There isn’t much of it here, but the pacing still works very well this issue. At this point, I don’t feel like there is enough development for Olwyn, but Rook is shaping up nicely. Olwyn seems to be the kind of person meandering through the story, trying to figure out what is happening to her and she seems very bewildered most of the time. I am hoping the shift from open travel to meeting animal headed beings will help shape her for the better. I am afraid that if she doesn’t get some real agency soon, that she will end up being a lackluster character in what seems like a very interesting and visually appealing story. I feel bad for Olwyn, but I don’t feel like she is getting to do enough or just doesn’t have as much expression as she could by this point. I like how well she emotes as a tiger in terms of facial expression, but nothing has revealed much about why she is like this or what it means for her long-term when it comes to development.

Score: 3/5

Isola #3
Image Comics