Wednesday 6 April 2022

Lantern City Vol. 1 - Bruce Boxleitner, Matthew Daley, Trevor Crafts and more

(Lantern City Issues 1-4)
Carlos Magno (Illustrations) 
ISBN 9781608868278
eISBN 9781613984987
ASIN B01E0IZ50W


I stumbled upon this series by accident, I was checking to see of Bruce Boxleitner’s two novels had been released finally as eBooks. (The had not.) But he was listed as a created of something called Lantern City, now I had not heard of this and realised it had a full comic run, was reprinted in a collection of graphic novels, and that there were hopes someday to see it in film or TV. I was hooked immediately. It has been a few years since I have read a true graphic novel, and even longer since I read one that was part of a larger story arc. So I picked up this first volume. Before I was a third of the way through it I picked up the other two. The description of this volume is:

“How far would you go to be with the person you love?

Sander Jorve just wants to keep his wife and son safe. Living in the brutalized lower class of Lantern City means living in near constant darkness, the enormous walls of the city always looming overhead, while the upper class enjoys the elevated, interconnected towers and airships above. When Sander’s brother-in-law, the persuasive activist Kendal, convinces him to infiltrate the brutal ranks of the Guard, he’s set on a dangerous path that will test his abilities and beliefs, all in the name of making a difference for his family and his caste.

From the writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to comics like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Lady Mechanika, the detailed and imagination-fueled steampunk movement has excited fans worldwide. Set in an original, sprawling steampunk world, Lantern City explores everything we love about the genre and what it takes to change a person’s place in the world.”

The story is well written. The illustrations are excellent. As the set up for a longer story arc it grabs you quick and keeps you drawn in. I could not tell where one issue ended and another began if it wants for the chapter notices. The story flowed seamlessly. 

You can still purchase the individual issues or the compilation. At the end of the Graphic Novel edition are several pages of alternate covers. Special editions of covers and even some design art. For fans of science fiction, dystopian, or steam punk will love this series. But beware you will want the next volume immediately.




Lantern City Series:
Rise (Prequel)
Volume 2 (Issues 5-8)
Volume 3 (Issues 9-12)
 
Books by Bruce Boxleitner:
Frontier Earth
Frontier Earth: Searcher






No comments: