Yesterday was officially, according to the Gregorian calendar most of us follow here in North America, the first day of Spring.
It was a fairly chilly day in Toronto, and the wind coming off of Lake Ontario made it even colder still. But the sun was shining, and there was an air of hope that the season had indeed, finally, changed.
Winter is officially gone.
Spring, and its promise of warmer weather, t-shirts and more appropriate footwear, outdoor patio carousing, park benches and graphic novel reading, has finally returned.
So too has a fantasy graphic novel series from two of comicdom’s most acclaimed writer/artist teams.
Hope, the eagerly awaited hardcover sequel to the Shame Trilogy from writer Lovern Kindzierski and illustrator John Bolton, has finally arrived!
Hope
Written By: Lovern Kindzierski
Illustrated By: John Bolton
Published By: Renegade Arts Entertainment
The metaphor of winter-to-Spring is an apt one today. But let’s dive into the story.
Mother and daughter.
Is there any relationship between two human beings that is more full of love – and, sometimes, hate – than the infinitely complex relationship between a mother and her female progeny?
That was the story, the drama, behind the fantasy-inspired Shame Trilogy, published in a tasty hardcover collection by Renegade Arts Entertainment in The Shame Trilogy: Collectors Edition in 2016.
Shame told the story of Mother Virtue, who, late in life, finally bears the child she always wanted. But because this child was conceived through disgraceful means, the baby is named Shame, and surrendered to malevolent forces. The magically powerful Shame grows up hating her mother and vies to undo the world around her.
Last year, I got the opportunity to interview artist John Bolton (Marada the She Wolf, Books of Magic, Man-Bat) in anticipation of his appearance at Fan Expo Canada, here in Toronto. You can read that interview, which reveals his artistic process and his lavish work on The Shame Trilogy, here.
At that same event, I was also able to talk to, Lovern Kindzierski (Necromantic, Underworld, and as a colourist, just about every comic book you’ve ever read and loved!) about his long-standing career as both a colourist and a writer in the comic book industry, the Shame Trilogy and the new Hope chapter that follows that story.
In the new, gorgeously painted Hope hardcover tale (released today), we discover the newly born offspring of both Virtue and Shame, who sets out into a world full of dreaded and malignant enemies, all bent on destroying her. It is, of course, a direct sequel to The Shame Trilogy, but it also stands on it’s own: a fantasy, a renaissance fable, a folk tale of human pride, suffering, spite, evil, and, of course, hope.
Make the Wednesday run to your better comic book store or bookshop and pick up the hardcover volume of Hope.
Spring is finally here! And in celebration, we all have Hope!
Look for a fulsome review of Hope here at Biff Bam Pop!, directly after the Easter long weekend. How appropriate!
