Originally posted on Irish Comic News (4/Sept/2017)
Art by Nathan Donnell.
Written and lettered by Danny McLaughlin.Spring is the follow up to Winter, which was the winner of ICN Best Comic 2016 award (Review for Winter here).
McLaughlin and Donnell continue to build upon the mythos of chapter 1. When I first saw the cover to Spring I had hoped that it would continue with a similar application of colour to signify the season of the comic. The use of colour in Winter was something that I really liked and was happy to see that sensibility retained in Spring. Gone are the icy blues of Winter replaced with vibrant greens of Spring.
Story-wise, Spring feels much like the Irish legends that I used to read in primary school. It has a air of familiarity about it. As each issue thus far concerns itself with a particular season, the story is kept moving so things are in place for the following issue. Though I will say I don’t think I’ve ever read an Irish legend with the type of prison-break as that contained in Spring. McLaughin’s writing gives a great sense of the characters while having a flavour of old legends.
The art looks really good and is easy to follow. Which is a great accomplishment considering Donnell only has black and green to work with for most of the comic. I liked the use of green as a kind of substitute for a grey wash in some of the panels. It gives a bit of variety to the use of green in the comic instead of only using it on the backgrounds. It beds the characters into the scenes whereas using only blacks would probably make them looks stark and somewhat detached from the world of the comic.
Spring takes towards the midway mark in the Solstice saga. Cover art for Summer has already started to appear on social media and it suggests that it will continue with the use of colour that I really enjoy in this series.
Spring, much like Winter, is a well drawn comic with an entertaining take on how time moves through the seasons. So check out Winter and Spring so you’ll be well prepared for the arrival of Summer.