 Okko:
Cycle of Water #1 (of 4)
by Hub
Archaia Studios Press
FC, 32 pgs w/ ads
$4.95 CAN / $3.95 US
Samurai action from France
by Chad Boudreau
One of the books that put Archaia Studios Press on my
Best of 2006 list was Okko: Cycle of Water #1. While I'd already
had my eye on the publisher because of Mouse
Guard, Artesia: Besieged and Robotika,
it was Okko and its French companion, The Killer, which moved
it from an honorable mention to a certified member of the prestigious list.
While two issues showed The Killer was a heady and intense thriller,
a single issue of Okko revealed this was an epic adventure, with mixes
of horror, faux Japanese history and samurai action.
It's year 1008 in the official calendar of the Pajan Empire. This is a turbulent
age during which great clans wage long wars in attempts to seize power. Far
from the field of battle, Okko the ronin leads a small group of demon hunters,
wandering the realms of the Empire. His companions are Noburo, a mysterious
giant who hides his face behind a mask, and the sake loving monk, Noshin, who
has the power to summon and commune with the spirits of nature.
 As
our story begins, Okko is finishing up a job, presenting the destroyed demon
to the man who hired his services. While the money is being transacted, Okko's
companions rest in a nearby floating village of sorts. The menacing Noburo is
surprisingly tender toward beautiful Little Carp, while Noshin keeps her young
brother from spying on the two. This idyllic setting is shattered by a band
of pirates who attack the flotilla, savaging its residents and capturing the
women, one of which is Little Carp. Noburo sheds his tenderness and reveals
the menace he is, wading into the pirates with katana blades whirling. He's
no match for a "puppet samurai" (a giant samurai animatron piloted
from within by marionettes), however, and thus the pirates escape. Okko returns
to collect his companions and finds no one else around except for the boy, Tikku,
who offers lifelong service to the ronin if he helps rescue his sister.
For all its rather by-the-numbers storytelling (artist / writer Hub though
from France is obviously familiar with anime and manga and its types of storylines),
Okko captures the reader because the artwork within places the story
within a fully realized world, and one gets the sense the tale of Okko
is far more epic than this one issue leads you to believe.
Illustrated by Hub with coloring assists from Stephan Pelayo, Okko features
artwork that is so detailed and kinetic one might think it was a series of screenshots
captured from an anime produced by the likes of Studio Ghibli. Shading, coloring,
lighting and fine detail combine to create the kind of attractive comic book
I've come to expect from Archaia Studios Press. There is no doubt the owner
and operators know quality when they see it. I've yet to meet an Archaia Studios
Press release that didn't capture my attention.
4 of 5
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