Omnipathy #3 by Joe Sparrow

Comic: Omnipathy #3
Release date: March 2013
Writer and artist: Joe Sparrow
Cover: full-color
Interior: full-color
Synopsis: Ever wondered what a race of free-floating invertebrate aliens living in an asteroid field would make of a vinyl Bach record? Ever thought there might be something shady going on behind the scenes in Tolkienesque fantasy? Then this is the comic for you!

The Deal

I bought this comic in 2014 on one of my trips to England. I got it in London at Orbital Comics which offers a very wide selection of small press comics for which they have to be applauded. There wasn't too much to my choosing of Omnipathy #3. I looked at the cover, was intrigued, flipped through it, fell in love with the artwork and bright colors and had to bring it home with me. I bought so many books on that trip I've only just now gotten to reading this one. 

The Feel

The comic is 34 pages long, A5 size and printed on pretty shiny paper. The cover is the same thickness as the interior pages, the whole comic is in full color. The printer did a very nice job, all the pages are cut perfectly, all the page borders are exactly the same width on each and every page, which is usually where mistakes are made. Obviously done by an experienced printer. The total feel of the comic is high end. No cost were spared to bring you this work of art that fits so well into your hand. 

The Story

The comic contains two complete stories. The first one is 'The Indigo Sonata' about an object from the third planet that baffles scientists from another. I really had to let this one sink in it's such an ingenious story. The colors used as the language of the other race is a brilliant concept and well worked out within the few pages Sparrow had to lay out this wonderful tale. What I learned is that 'art is always in the eye of the beholder'. I'm going to leave it at that because I don't want to give too much away of the journey you'll be taking when you read it. I hope there will be a sequel to this as there's so much left for him to discover.
The second story is 'Nicolas and the Dragon' a fun tale about a smart young wizard who opts to be the kingdoms dragon slayer. I thought the story was going one way, but ended up another which was a nice surprise. The story builds up nicely and gives ample time to invest in the town, the king and Nicolas.   

The Look

Whoowee, just look at the pretty and bright colors. Sparrow claims to have used over 4,7 million hexadecimal pigment values throughout the comic and to tell you the truth I believe him. The mostly blue/black colored cover doesn't prepare you for the shock of colors coming out at you from the interior pages. Especially from the first story which uses so many colors in each panel it's like looking through a kaleidoscope. The second story starts out with perfectly picked timid colors when depicting the king and his surroundings and then the story explodes into bright explosive colors when the dragon comes into play which is a nice contrast. So much so that when I first flipped through it in the store I thought there were three different stories.

The Conclusion

I would buy it again without thinking about it and would even buy any one of the three Onmipathy comics just based on the wonderful way Sparrow does his storytelling in this third issue. I think 'The Indigo Sonata' story especially is worth this whole comic. My mind keeps going back to that tale as it really spoke to my heart. 'Nicolas and the Dragon' is a nice story about outwitting an out-witter. I found it a nice read, I think it will especially speak to children because they'll really be rooting for Nicolas the wizard. The comics all over feel and Sparrows use of colors complete the deal. To me it's a self published work of art.

How to get a copy

You can get a copy at Orbital Comics in London, England or you can order one directly from Joe Sparrow from his website page. It will cost you 4,00GBP for the comic and 1,00GBP to have it shipped to you by Joe Sparrow personally. 
Edit: Just found the Joe Sparrow website where you can get all four of his comics for just 8,00GBP plus shipping.