Comic: Chimichanga, Part 1
Release date: december 2009
Writer and artist: Eric Powell
Cover: full-color
Interior: black/white
Synopsis: This is about a little bearded girl and her escapades with a slightly less than extraordinary traveling circus.
The Deal
Every couple of weeks there's a 'Boekenfestijn' (Bookfestival) somewhere in the Netherlands or Belgium. They have rows and rows of comic storage boxes filled with (usually) bagged comics which they sell for 0,99 euro a piece. So you can imagine me and my friends are all over those boxes. On one of my visits I found Chimichanga and the cover grabbed my attention immediately. I flipped trough the inside and though I usually go for full-color I couldn't take my eyes of the artwork. A no brainer for the 0,99 euro.
The Feel
The cover has full-color artwork printed on shiny stock paper. The interior pages are bleached, they have the feel of thick newspaper stock and that brings out Powells grey/black artwork perfectly. I can't find any printing mistakes, every page has been printed straight and cut to perfection with two evenly placed saddle stitches holding all the pages together.
The Story
A little bearded girl from 'Wrinkles Traveling Circus' trades a couple of her chin whiskers for a shiny rock. And so she had a new friend. This first part of this three part series is very sweet. It's definitely an all-age comic. The little bearded girl will steal your heart the first time you stare down the pits of her endlessly black eyes. I also like evil witches that you can feel will fail (and will always fail, like Gargamel).
The story builds straight from the first moment we meet our very charming little girl as she comes in contact with her new friend. It never feels too slow or rushed. This first part does end in a cliffhanger so you'll want to make sure you have the 2nd and even 3rd issue ready to continue reading. I don't think it's high literature, but I do think it's a very nice story and really for all-ages. I have an eight year old son and I'm always glad when I find a real all-age comic. The girl is cute, Chimichanga is a nice monster and the witch is a real witch, it all just sounds like a fairy tale.
The Look
The cover depicts a beautiful subtle colored little bearded girl holding the pinkie finger of the Chimichanga. Often covers don't represent the artwork of the interior pages, but in this case it does exactly that. The artwork inside the comic is the same style as the cover, only in black/grey. I love being able to see every stroke made. Every panel has been well thought out and it looks great. The little bearded girl looks so sweet. I think it's great that Powell can draw a little girl that looks so lovely with a beard and deep black eyes. The 'monster' Chimichanga that looks like a googley-eyed troll creature is also different from any troll or monster type creature that I've ever seen and all the other figures from the circus have their own oddities. Artistically it's beautiful and I'm happy I found it among all the other comics in the boxes.
The Conclusion
It's a lovely all-age story, no violence, brilliant characters, wonderful art. If you'd like me to say something bad about it then I can. It's in black/grey, I'd love to see it in full-color, but you can relax because in their unlimited wisdom 'Black Horse Comics' decided in 2011 to release this three part series as an HC of 104-pages and it's in full-color!
How to get a copy
Like I said, 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.
