There are at least a couple of things in this Ogre scenario that draw me in; first being the fantasy genre, second being Bob Salley. I’ve always been a huge fan of the fantasy genre, it’s maybe second to only Sci-Fi in the scope of world building and possible character development in both writing and art. Fantasy gives writers and artists a wide range of characters, Ogre’s included, to develop in nearly endless different ways. Salley opens his fantasy world by establishing the context of the world and introducing characters. Within the first few pages of issue one the worlds politics and setting are established and Salley moves us right characters. Of course their are ogre’s, per the name of the comic, but Salley mostly focuses on a group of humans that are in a prison with the main character. I’m not an expert when it comes to the genre’s within the genre of fantasy so I can’t say for sure if this is low or high fantasy, where the setting is steeped in magic or if it has magic at all, but I can say that the main character is accompanied by the ghost of a man that was shackled to him. Within the first ten or so pages Salley establishes all characters and skillfully lays the groundwork for the coming adventure. It becomes clear that they will all become reluctant allies in the fight for freedom but it’s always the journey that is worth the read and Salley doesn’t skimp on the adventure either. Salley has a way with his storytelling that keeps the journey interesting while not sacrificing character development with the humans, Ogre, and the ghost. Nothing is given away, everything is earned through the story, and the Ogre’s true story is slowly revealed through both issues while still holding on to enough to make it necessary to finish with issue three. I’ve enjoyed the writing and character development from the beginning so there is no way I will miss issue three but the re-readability of Ogre is very much there, the subtlety of Salley’s story is something that comes through clearer and clearer every time I read it and it doesn’t take away from the quality of writing.
Sean Daley is an absolute phenom and his style of art has to be incredibly hard to pull off. I remember playing with water colors as a kid and it’s not easy to do, even at a child’s level. Staying within lines, getting the colors correct, not over doing it, and on top of all that he lettered this as well. I’ve always had a reverence for artists but what Daley is able to do all by himself brings new meaning to the word. I can’t think of another person, besides maybe Bill Sienkiewicz, that does watercolors and it’s not really fair to compare their styles. Sienkiewicz can have a gritty and dark look while Daley is more light and up beat, but being mentioned in the same breath as a legend like Sienkiewicz is probably more than anyone needs to know, Daley is a world class talent. As someone that has laid his eyes on an ungodly amount of comics I feel like Daley has a certain appeal to his look that is just pleasant and easy to look at, he picks really nice colors and he can contrast them against each other without making it look forced or unnatural, and his character design is amusing and light hearted, even with the trolls and ogres that are supposed to be scary. Another thing that blows my mind about Daley is his ability to stay on schedule for a monthly book. I feel like this style of art must take a lot of time and attention to detail so being able to hit a monthly deadline can’t be easy. Kudos to you Mr. Daley not only have you made a made a book full of some of the best art, you did that while also lettering the book. I’m not sure how much talent one person is allowed to have but Daley is pushing that boundary daily. Yes pun intended.
If Ogre sounds like something you would like you should head over to your local comic shop and have them order Ogre for you, or you can go to the source at Source Point Press and order directly from them. While you’re there you can check out other great titles from Bob Salley and all the other excellent Source Point artists!
