Created on June 7, 2012 and written by TommyHancock
Category: Comic Book Reviews

Rating: 4/5
Publisher Name: Arcana Comics
Publisher Website: www.arcana.com/

Writer: Jason Chiu and Alex De-Gruchy
Pencils: Ada Zhu
Number of Pages: 48
Price: 9.99(Print) 5.99(Comixology
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: PARENTAL ADVISORY – 15 years and older. Similiar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.

Publisher’s Blurb:
The Elixir is a 48-page fantasy/comedy graphic novella set once upon a time in the kingdom of Gulmakane and stars Frank, a thief; and Dwight, an assassin. Frank and Dwight have been friends and partners-in-crime for the last three years.

In the capital city of Penning, King Hector, the ruler of Gulmakane, has recently fallen very ill, becoming desperate enough to put out the call for a hero to go on a quest – one that will grant the hero the hand of Hector’s daughter, Princess Diane, in marriage. This quest is to retrieve the Elixir of Eternity, a fabled vial of liquid said to grant an eternal life to whoever drank it. The quest is accepted by Roland Morgaine, a much-admired hero. But Roland is actually a ruthless liar and murderer who has manipulated his reputation over the years as a means to gain power. Hector has no idea that Roland – with the help of a gullible maid at the King’s castle – is actually the one behind his illness, slowly poisoning him so that Hector would want the Elixir of Eternity, a quest that Roland would accept and which would allow him to marry Princess Diane and become a prince.

Reviewer’s Comments:
The Elixir reads as somewhere in between a graphic novel and a classic fantasy/adventure novel, all the while sprinkling in other influences in along the way. The execution was flawless from a storytelling standpoint by both the writers and the artist. There were quite a few times that I literally LOL’d(at parts that are meant to make the reader do such a thing) and parts that I would never have seen coming in the plot. Also, the story was progressed from scene to scene by a narrator, and very excellently.

I am not without gripes, however. Not that I have many. In fact, I have exactly two, one is very small and easy to overcome, the other is dependent on the buyer. First the smaller one. There were a couple times when dialogue balloons would be coming from the wrong spot. It was distracting, to be honest, but it happened only twice, and very early in the book and I was able to overlook it by the time I got past it. The relative gripe for me would be the price. The comic was very good, but the price to me is a bit steep. You can get comics at the same page count for a little more than half the price.

Bottom line(Cause Stonecold said so): With both of those gripes, I still give The Elixir a 4/5, because every other aspect of the comic is executed as well as I can picture it being executed. If you’re in the market for something fresh and got a little extra change in your pocket, this is a very good read.

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About the Writer: TommyHancock (34 Posts) Though the list of things that Tommy Hancock loves is quite immense, very few things have ever come close to his love for comics (Not including living things, of course. He's a jittery ol' hermit, not a monster). Fancying himself a writer, Tommy has aspirations in every form of media(Novels, short stories, TV, film, web series, comics(#1), etc.) and can usually be found locked in his room tapping away at his laptop, which is quite literally falling apart from the constant poundings. Lacking any artistic ability himself, aside from being able to string words together, Tommy is always on the lookout for a talented Lad or lass to collaborate with, so if you're in the market for a writer feel free to drop him a line. He only bites when provoked. Tommy Hancock lives in the California High Desert with his dog, Quincy. He resides in a house that is heavily fortified to withstand even the most extreme of zombie onslaughts.

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