(Art in this post may best be viewed if your screen resolution is set no higher than 1024 X 768.)

Yes, I know. I am supposed to be gone. Get off of my back already will ya! I’m leaving. But before I go…

I wanted to give you an exclusive sneak peek into a new graphic novel that is coming out, Blue, written by a recent addition to the conversations over here, Elizabeth Genco with art by Finnish artist Sami Makkonen. There are two reasons it is important to post about this today. Number one (for you non-comic-book-geeks) is that Wednesday is the traditional day that new comics hit the stores here in the U.S. and so posting about comics on a Wednesday just seems like the right thing to do. Number two: you are just in time to get your order in for this book. The best place to order this is through Diamond Distributors via your local comic shop. This book is featured in this month’s Previews and the order code is:

It also looks like it may be available through Amazon for pre-order. The graphic novel is scheduled to be released in July. Meet me on the other end of this sneak peek and I will tell you more. Just a word of warning, there is a bit of adult language.

What do you think? Are you intrigued? I love it. This book is every bit as cool as it looks.

Elizabeth Genco offered me the privilege of previewing the entire graphic novel, which I read online last week. I have mentioned before that I get nervous when reviewing things for folks who actually visit this site because my intention is always to be honest. Let me start out by saying that the art appealed to me right off the bat. I see a similarity in Sami Makkonen’s art with one of my favorite comic book artists, Ashley Wood, so there was no doubt that this book’s art caught my eye. I am especially enamored of the shade of blue used throughout the book to highlight various aspects of the main character. It is a color that is used very effectively in the book that not only makes the pages “pop” (as they say often on HGTV) but it also ties in with the overall story being told. Very clever stuff. I also really enjoyed the use of blurred images as they gave certain frames of the graphic novel an interesting sense of depth.

As for the story…here is where I was initially worried. The story started a bit slowly and I was unsure of exactly where it was going. Fortunately the more I read the more the story drew me in and it became readily apparent why the story was paced the way it was. It wasn’t slow because of a writing flaw, it was structured in that way to set up the story–and for me the payoff was certainly worth it! I like when a story takes its time to get you where you need to go when the journey ends up being this satisfying. Nice overall sense of plot and pacing with this story and, as I said above, the art is top notch.

The timing of this preview could not be more perfect as the foundation upon which Blue is built ties in with the theme of the Once Upon a Time II Challenge and will also fit in perfectly with this year’s R.I.P. III Challenge. I will not reveal any more as this graphic novel is best experienced with no real foreknowledge going in. I had fun with it and the reason I did so was because I was able to figure out what was happening as it was progressing and then enjoyed watching to see how the story resolved itself. Elizabeth, who is a reviewer for Endicott Studio and has work featured in Weird Tales and in an upcoming anthology based on the songs of Tori Amos: Comic Book Tattoo (incidentally also available for pre-order in this month’s Previews) is certainly grounded in her fairy tale/folklore mythology and that knowledge shows through in her storytelling. Her comic book writing certainly has me interested in reading her other stuff.

If you are a fan of the darker nature of fairy tales and/or like strong female characters then I highly recommend Blue. If you are adventurous and willing to try something different I would also suggest you check this out. I myself will be ordering a copy and look forward to reading it again in its intended format!

I always recommend supporting smaller press and independent stuff. The latest issues of Batman or X-Men, while they may be highly entertaining, don’t need me to bang the drum to get people to buy them. But smaller press stuff does and when I can read something like Blue, thoroughly enjoy it, and encourage you to buy it then I feel very privileged. I look forward to reading more of Elizabeth’s work in the future.

Support Elizabeth Genco and Sami Makkonen and give Blue a try!