Before I start this:
I met Jeremy Dale with Kelly by his side on several occasions at various comic book conventions. I am always on the lookout for a well written all-ages comic book story, and I found Jeremy and Skyward when there were only two issues, self-published and in black and white. Later, I saw him at a different convention and got issue 3, and he said that issue 4 should be out by NYCC.
When I saw him at NYCC and asked him about issue 4, he said quietly that it was delayed because he was in talks about a publishing deal. He was quiet, but clearly really, really excited. The next thing I knew, I was seeing Action Labs re-publishing issue 1, but this time in glorious color AND at my local comic book shop! I purchased and followed the rest of the issues through 9.
Then, Jeremy Dale passed away on 4 November 2014. After a handful of years passed, his widow, Kelly Dale, picked up Jeremy's notes, wrote out the story and started a Kickstarter campaign to get a final issue of Skyward published along with an Omnibus collection of the whole story.
I backed this, and now I've finally re-read the whole Omnibus including the new and final issue 10. Anyway, it's all very sad, and emotional for me to see this finally happen, and maybe this isn't as much a book review as a note about a really, really good all-ages adventure story that maybe should have gone on 20 or 200 more issues.
Skyward follows a boy named Quinn and his dog, Jack. Early on, a mysterious group comes along, [selecting the stripe will spoil most of issue 1] burns down his house, kills his parents and starts chasing Quinn . His father had told Quinn to get to the city of Three Rivers. Everything after that is Quinn's adventure with Jack, unsure of where he is going, and trying to evade the group that is hunting him.
This is a little scary of a beginning for very young readers but the drawn violence is limited. I will note that there is one place in issue 10 where there is a literal puddle of blood under a someone making gurgling noises... which may push this out of all-ages for some parents.
Here's the thing, the story is very well written, and the ending (issue 10) - while a little rushed is very well done with a much needed nod to Jeremy Dale at the end. If this is a book or digital that you can get hold of, I do recommend it.
At this time, I have seen no plans to sell these outside of the long expired Kickstarter, but if that changes, I'll link it in an update to this post.
Skyward
All-Ages Adventure (Graphic Novel/Collected Comic Issues)
Action Labs
Released: 7 July 2018
Hardcover, 304 pages, Full Color
I met Jeremy Dale with Kelly by his side on several occasions at various comic book conventions. I am always on the lookout for a well written all-ages comic book story, and I found Jeremy and Skyward when there were only two issues, self-published and in black and white. Later, I saw him at a different convention and got issue 3, and he said that issue 4 should be out by NYCC.
When I saw him at NYCC and asked him about issue 4, he said quietly that it was delayed because he was in talks about a publishing deal. He was quiet, but clearly really, really excited. The next thing I knew, I was seeing Action Labs re-publishing issue 1, but this time in glorious color AND at my local comic book shop! I purchased and followed the rest of the issues through 9.
Then, Jeremy Dale passed away on 4 November 2014. After a handful of years passed, his widow, Kelly Dale, picked up Jeremy's notes, wrote out the story and started a Kickstarter campaign to get a final issue of Skyward published along with an Omnibus collection of the whole story.
I backed this, and now I've finally re-read the whole Omnibus including the new and final issue 10. Anyway, it's all very sad, and emotional for me to see this finally happen, and maybe this isn't as much a book review as a note about a really, really good all-ages adventure story that maybe should have gone on 20 or 200 more issues.
Skyward follows a boy named Quinn and his dog, Jack. Early on, a mysterious group comes along, [selecting the stripe will spoil most of issue 1] burns down his house, kills his parents and starts chasing Quinn . His father had told Quinn to get to the city of Three Rivers. Everything after that is Quinn's adventure with Jack, unsure of where he is going, and trying to evade the group that is hunting him.
This is a little scary of a beginning for very young readers but the drawn violence is limited. I will note that there is one place in issue 10 where there is a literal puddle of blood under a someone making gurgling noises... which may push this out of all-ages for some parents.
Here's the thing, the story is very well written, and the ending (issue 10) - while a little rushed is very well done with a much needed nod to Jeremy Dale at the end. If this is a book or digital that you can get hold of, I do recommend it.
At this time, I have seen no plans to sell these outside of the long expired Kickstarter, but if that changes, I'll link it in an update to this post.
All-Ages Adventure (Graphic Novel/Collected Comic Issues)
Action Labs
Released: 7 July 2018
Hardcover, 304 pages, Full Color