31 Days Of CCS, #8: Angela Boyle

The third issue of writer Rachel Cholst and artist (and CCS alum) Angela Boyle's Artema series was the best so far. Titled Artema The Lover, it follows the progress of the warrior exiled from her own clan because of her violent tendencies. The series is technically told in flashback, as the first issue introduced the reader to Artema as an old woman, on the precipice of finishing a long-pursued quest. Each issue has advanced her personal mythology a bit more, and this issue revealed in detail how the gods of her people gave her special powers to protect them. The paradox was that she was forced to leave her people, throwing in with a band of brigands. 

The first half of this issue beautifully illustrates her blossoming relationship with a member of that gang named Katre. The combination of both heat and affection is skillfully depicted by Boyle. I noted that in the second issue, the way she depicted characters interacting with each other in space was stiff, especially the battle scenes. Her work in this issue is so much more fluid, without sacrificing the loose expressiveness of her character designs. Everything in this comic feels dynamic, from the sex scene's unusual angles and panel design to the way Boyle put together the fight scenes. While the body language in those scenes felt natural and fluid, her ability to exaggerate Artema's facial expressions in particular made it easy to understand her challenge as someone commanding supernatural forces who felt out of place. The bonus story featuring another glimpse of Artema's future was a pleasant one that had a small call-back to the first story while dropping another tantalizing hint to her turbulent past. This third issue is the one where one can feel things cohere both in terms of narrative and art.