REVIEW – Canto #1

Canto #1 - IDW Publishing

Written by David Booher

Art by Drew Zuerk

Colors by Vittorio Astone

Letterer Deon Bennett

Fun.  Compassion.  Hope.  Now, imagine all of those things are taken away.  Those are just a few of the things that Canto has.  That's the problem, he is not supposed to have any of those things. The adventure starts here in the first issue of this new IDW comic book seriesl

We see our title character in the land of Arcana, as part of a slaver's camp working in terrible conditions.  Everything has been taken away from them, even their stories.  Probably worse was their hearts, which are now fitted with clocks to tell you when you will "expire".  Like many workers facing such deplorable conditions, the workers do a lot of the things they aren't supposed to do.  Something happens to push Canto to the breaking point.  That is when we see Canto make the decision to brave the world in search of a way to keep his female friend alive.  Trying to be an inspiration to an entire colony of his enslaved people, Canto is ready to set off find something more.  What lies ahead for him is unknown, but that's part of the fun, isn't it?

Creating a new character is never easy.  Now try to create an entire world of characters.  Canto shows us these diminutive beings, which are absolutely likeable at first glance.  It's the eyes just as much as the stature.  It also helps that we see the hell that they go through each day and you want them to get out.  Sure this kind of story has been done before, but Canto feels different.  When you are literally battling for your heart, how can you not be rooting for these characters?  How can you not want Canto to be the hero?  That and the character designs are worthy of something that Jim Henson himself would have come up with.  Canto feels like Mouse Guard meets Oliver Twist meets your favorite fantasy story.  I can't wait to cheer on Canto each month and watch the world expand with each turn of the page.  Sign me up!

RATING:  PULL / BUY