The second volume of the Far End Chronicles titled "The Swamp of the Big Black Boo" continues the adventures of the little mechanical girl named Lili. In the first volume, the inventors Dr Elvin Klein and his scientist friend Basil Jodorowsky are trapped in another dimension, and they need to win prize money to fund their work. But in order to win the funding, they have to invent something impressive to the Far End townspeople. They decide to invent Lili, an artifical life form who looks just like a real girl. It certainly impressed the townspeople as they intended but their amazing yet impulsive invention didn't behave as they expected her to, and caused them a lot of worry and grief. In this second volume, Lili has to face a frightening enemy - The Big Black Boo! It's up to Lili to decide if she can face her own fears and meet the dreaded creature from the swamp.
Lili's creators, Elvin and Basil take care of her, but one day they decide she is responsible enough to be sent off on a mission of great importance. However, Lili doesn't want to go and meet the Big Black Boo in the swamp so she decides to go on a different route. Quite luckily for Lili, a giant blue dragon is watching her as carefully as a guardian angel would so it's not long before she's rescued from trouble! The characters in the second volume are familiar characters too that we vaguely saw in the first volume, but now their stories have been expanded so we understand them better.
The artwork in this volume is absolutely charming. There's the beautiful blue dragon who has been assigned to keep an eye on Lili from the very beginning of this volume's story, and there's also the eerie ghostly blue people whose spirits are floating around in a giant city in the air. It's one of those books where you simply can't afford to not pay attention to anything because then you're bound to miss some fascinating new creature. The characters have a cartoony look to them, and there's a lovely amount of depth and detail in the backgrounds of the scenic trip Lili takes on the dragon who befriends her. The colouring is an amazing improvement too with even more vibrant watercolours.
If you're looking for a fresh and unique read in the fantasy category, then look no further because The Far End Chronicles has plenty to entertain you with. Lili's plight of self-discovery while exploring a magical fantasy world with friendly and cute creatures to delight in will capture your full attention. She might not be human, but it's clear she doesn't lack humanity as shown by the feeling she expresses throughout the entire volume. This storyline is also more emotional than it was in the first one, since Lili learns some valuable life lessons.
The story has been posted on the artist and writer Miha Rinne's ComicSpace gallery, so be sure to swing by and check it out. The Far End Chronicles is also a magical tale that will appeal to kids and adults too with its attractive and colourful watercolour artwork and the fascinating world of Far End so be sure to enjoy it with your whole family. Check "The Far End Chronicles Volume Two" out for yourself at Kidjutsu too! |
