Release date: may 2010
Writer and artist: Eric Powell
Cover: full-color
Interior: black/gray on white paper
Synopsis: This is about a little bearded girl and her escapades with a slightly less than extraordinary traveling circus.
The Deal
After finding the first issue by accident I put the other two issues on my wish list. Low and behold on one of the next Boekenfestijn (Bookfestival, a wholesale bookseller in the Netherlands and Belgium that rents big venues by the weekend to sell millions of books and boxes filled with comics at highly discounted prices). They pop up now and again in my neck of the woods and I have no choice but to go. I found this second issue on one of my consecutive visits and was very elated.
The Feel
Most likely printed by the same printer because it has exactly the same specifications as the first issue. The cover has full-color artwork printed on shiny stock paper. The interior pages are bleached white, they have the feel of thick newspaper stock and it brings out Powells grey/black artwork perfectly. I can't find any printing mistakes, every page is straight and cut to perfection with two saddle stitches holding all the pages together.The Story
An evil corporation needs the little bearded girl for her chin whiskers which hold a special medicine that can make them a lot of money. From there things go very bad for the little bearded girl and Chimichanga. Once again it ends in a cliffhanger. I love the panel with all the acts in the circus and what they do in it. It's not a laugh out loud comic, it's just a very refined and nice story about a girl and her 'beast'. Children will most likely find this second part the most exiting one because a lot of things happen and really none of them are good. The cliffhanger is also a good one. You can almost hear the voice straight out of the old Batman tv-series go: "Will she survive?", "Will little bearded girl and Chimichanga ever be together again?" etc...The Look
The emphasis of the artwork is definitely on the characters. The backgrounds are often vague or not there at all, except when it serves the story, then suddenly you get to see in full glory what Powell can do with his pencils. I like his style. He shows what's important and leaves out what's not. Keeping the focus on what the artist wants you to see and what's important for the story line, where many artists get lost in the details.The Conclusion
Again I can continue on from the comments I left for the first issue. It's a lovely all-age story with brilliant and beautifully drawn characters, wonderful artwork by Eric Powell. I've since looked up Powell and found that he's worked on some other of the comic books that are among of my favorites. Maybe that's why I immediately put the comic in my cart in the first place.How to get a copy
You can get the three single black/grey issues that make up the full story or you can get the full-color 104-page hardcover produced by Dark Horse Comics. I think it all comes down to your personal taste. The single issue series was made in 2009 and the full-color series in 2011 so your best bet would be your local comics store if it has back issues or a website like Ebay or Amazon. You can find more art from Eric Powells website.