Farlaine The Goblin Issues #1 and 2 (Studio Farlain)
This is a fairy tale. Farlaine the Goblin, a tree goblin shaman from the Forest of Fin-Din, has spent years wandering the very many Oddlands of Wug(hundreds!) in search of a forest to call his own. He only has 10 lands left.
He’s on this journey with his only friend, his tree Ehrenwort, who’s slung over his shoulder and constantly giving him an earful. The story I’m telling is act 3 of their journey. They’ve been searching for years. They’ve had a lot of failures. Ehrenwort is a little beat up.
We follow Farlaine and Ehrenwort as they continue through the remaining lands, none of which sound promising – The Tinklands, The Saltlands, The Racelands, The Twistlands, The Winglands, The Vaultlands, The Traplands, etc. If they finish exploring the world without finding a forest, poor Ehrenwort will wither and die, and Farlaine will wander like a ronin forever…
This series is the perfect family-friendly fantasy quest series!
For children and adult readers alike, Farlaine is a very relatable character. He is out of place and is just trying to find his call in life. He wants to find a forest of his own to not only live in but to also find purpose in. His quest to find his own forest has taken him across Wug and has expanded well beyond anything he ever imagined!
As a series, Farlaine the Goblin’s plot has excellent scaffolding and solidly fleshed out yet fantastical characters. And while the story is a joy to read, the true charm of this series comes from the art and layout. The horizontally aligned art/layout of the book is brilliant in how it conveys the story. It reads like a classic Sunday morning newspaper comic adventure, think Prince Valliant meets Calvin and Hobbes. It offers a wide-screen left-to-right take which exemplifies the travelling journey theme of the tale. While the art is cartoony, it is a perfect fit for the fantasy tale presented – Farlaine for me is very reminiscent of two of my favorite series Bloom County and Bone.
Grade: A
The Bottom Line: This is a fantastic read for all ages and is perfect for the classroom, a bed-time read-a-loud or present! Buy it here!
