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The Gathering: The Thing With Feathers
By Philip Schweier
Aug 31, 2010 - 17:00
The Gathering is the first in a series of anthologies, each issue devoted to a single theme. In this case, we should look to a quote from Emily Dickinson: “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” And each story throughout the debut issue deals with hope in all its various forms: eternal hope, lost hope, misplaced hope, hope for simple and hope for salvation. Scenarios are depicted from the realistic (a wedding guest) to the fantastic (a demon in hell), but almost always, the stories have the ring of truth.
In many instances, it is possible to recognize if not ourselves, then someone we may know. It is clear that many of the stories, each one the length of a two-page spread, are taken from personal experiences, some with ironic endings, others with a twist. Despite such a shortened format, they are almost all easy to follow. A few exceptions try to cram too much information, resulting in excrutiatingly small type against a dark background that is hard on the eyes.
Which brings me to the artwork, some of which seems to have the polish of up-and-coming professionals. But the wide range of styles reminded me of older issues of Heavy Metal, wherein some stories were told in crude but effective methods, implying a certain level of spontaneity, if not professional polish. Personally, I have no problem with that, but your mileage may vary
Last Updated: Jan 7, 2012 - 7:41
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