THE MICE TEMPLAR #1 by Bryan J.L. Glass and Michael Avon Oeming.
© Image
Mania Grade: A+
Issue: 1
Authors: Bryan J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.99
Issue: 1
Authors: Bryan J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.99
THE MICE TEMPLAR #1
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Bryan Glass and Michael Oeming present a charming story both whimsical for its anthropomorphic heroes and exciting for its visceral action scenes. Mice Templar follows in the footsteps of Don Bluth’s animated film, The Secret of NIMH, presenting cute characters in dark circumstances. Leito, an aged blacksmith, tells his young apprentices of an age when the Templar knights protected the Dark Lands. All was well, until the Templar succumbed to internal division and slaughtered each other on the Field of Avalon. Young Karic insists that the Templar couldn’t have simply vanished to a man. His suspicions are further aroused when Pilot the Tall, an old friend of Leito, visits the village. The guards promptly eject him, leading Karic to wonder if the fate of the Templar has been concealed. Only when a hoard of vicious rats overruns the village does Karic glimpse the hero’s quest that lies before him.
To clarify: Mice Templar doesn’t retell the story of the real Knights Templar with rodents in their place. There’s no persecution by King Philip IV of France, no Crusades, and no bullsh-t about ties to the Freemasons. Glass and Oeming appropriate bits of Arthurian legend, Norse mythology, and Templar history in a swords-and-sorcery collage that seeks to thrill and inspire, rather than educate anyone about history or conspiracy theory. Karic’s experience mirrors the “Hero’s Quest” Joseph Campbell told us about in relation to Star Wars, but it never shamelessly apes that series in its execution. Rather, they present a timeless archetype told with cute cartoon animals. But, the series never wants for action. The blood flies and the appendages follow. Mice or not, this one isn’t for the kids. Oeming’s art sets the story’s distinctive tone, striking an admirable balance between the simultaneous child-like and adult tones of this issue. Will Quintana’s bright colors compliment Oemin’s sharp angles and make the issue feel akin to an animated film. It makes the violence all the more shocking when the battle begins.
This first issue of Mice Templar begins a promising new series. If you’ve never grown tired of a story about a young man seeking adventure as he passes into maturity – and, who hasn’t? – then pick this one up.
Nice review, Kurt.
This concept reminds me of Mouse Guard that came out in hardcover recently. THAT is an excellent book, with a great story and wonderful illustrations.