The Council of Frogs - Story and art by Matt Emmons
Kickstarter has been a revelation for me. It is home to SO many incredible writers and artists, and my latest one to arrive was created by someone who does both. Matt Emmons has created what might be my favorite graphic novel of the year, The Council of Frogs. It is a simple story, with a lone frog making a journey to deliver a message on behalf of the corpse that gave him higher thinking. So maybe not that simple. But it will simply steal your heart, as you follow the journey of the world's cutest protagonist. Matt's passion for 80s fantasy stories is clear, as the entire journey feels like a mix of dark fantasy with the coming to age questline. I feel Return to Oz, Labyrinth, Willow, The Neverending Story, and more in Emmons' work. As great as this story is, the art might even be better.
Emmons draws captivating characters that really just look like they were magically teleported from the real world to this fantasy one. From birds to frogs, Matt really captures nature in it's wildest forms. The swamp, the deserts, all of it shows how Emmons has nearly perfected the environment in his stories. His characters are fantastic as well, the Frog, the Battlemage, Gholkin, every character is well fleshed out, looks incredible, and adds to the story in an emotionally resonant way. Give me a sequel about the Hawk vs The Frog. Heck give me a trilogy about it. This story is cute, chaotic, adventurous, and an excellent fantasy story Matt Emmons should be so proud of. I don't want to give much more of it away, so I will do a shameless plug here and tell you that if you want to support small business, and to read a fun graphic novel while you do so, The Council of Frogs is it. Here is the link, go buy a copy for someone you know who loves frogs. Hop to it!
https://www.secondatbestpress.com/shop
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