3 out of 5

The once anonymous / “j”, now taking the pseudonym Pug Grumble, completes his goblin creation’s quest for a forest in the last three issues of Farlaine.  Phenomenally fun ideas and boundless creativity surrounding those ideas – plus the title’s general positivity – make it a fun read, but some artistic limitations undermine some big moments, and the lack of internal logic starts to wear at the edges of some of the more unwieldy ideas.

Once again following a one-land-per-book approach, Farlaine (and his Tink buddy, and his tree, Ehrenwort) travel to the Vaultlands – a land of vaults, all containing a singular item – and then the Winglands, before the extra-long conclusion brings us somewhat full circle.  I appreciate that Pug really added some stakes into things, and allows the possibility of a unhappy ending to feel like a legit possibility – mission failed, Ehrenwort lost, Farlaine retreating back home in defeat – and the final issue thus has a really successful, but balanced, sense of triumph, as our goblin finds his own sense of victory.

Prior to that, he finds himself tracked by a big ol’ fire demon of sorts, unlocked in the Vaultlands, and the chase sequence that takes over the latter half of issue 6 – in the Winglands, in which everything is granted wings – is where Grumble’s sort of flat artistic style fails him, not quite able to handle giving an action sequence between two disparately sized characters the momentum and choreography it needed.  This combines with rather flimsy, inconsistent application of the “rules” of the lands that makes it feel like some of the roadblocks experienced are very much just the plotty conveniences they are.  But because this stuff is propped up by the wildness of the ideas, and can’t-beat-’em-join-’em good nature of our leads, it’s still a lot of fun to keep flipping the pages.

And most importantly, the story – and our seven issue trek – feels satisfying in the end, which certainly isn’t always the case even with some of the best stories.

Looking forward to the next comic (or book) project from Mr. Grumble.