3 out of 5

Note: The title of this arc was seemingly only applied once it was collected.  The individual issues were numbered ‘of 6’ but each bore unique subtitles on the cover and in the indicia.  The subtitles, in order, were as follows: ‘Belly of the Beast,’ ‘Shadows Within,’ ‘Rise of the Axe,’ ‘The Dark Ghost,’ ‘Midnight’s Dawn,’ and ‘Return to Honor.’

From the first issue of ‘Mouse Guard’, I was swept up.  I’m a sucker for small animals, ’tis true, and definitely partial to mice and rats, though similar series hadn’t really caught my eye in the same way as Petersen’s work.  Perhaps it’s the unique square binding (even though that makes it a bitch to bag and board and store); perhaps the series just came at the right time, when I was very much invested in exploring Archaia’s publishings.  But there’s also a quality to it that tows just to the line of seriousness without going overboard.  This is an accomplished, detailed artist at work, pages filled with layers of hashes, interesting panel composition choices, and a rich color palette of water colors and, I think, some subtle computer blends, and the tale of ‘Fall 1152′ is a heavy one – the Mouse Guard’s homebase of lockhaven facing a massive uprising from an as yet unrevealed source – except for the knowledge that he or she will come from their own ranks.  Yet the ye olde dialogue – though clunky at some points – is wisely minimal and thus never haughty, and the fantasy setting is rich with a sense of lore but not with a sense of elves and dwarves, which the cloaks and swords and daggers would totally make ya’ think is around the corner.  By sticking exclusively to the animal realm (no cute perspective shots of human things), we’re allowed to not only accept the Mouse Guard world as a real one, but as a logical one, which isn’t always the case with Hobbit-y world building, since that tends to come with its own rules that are foisted upon us.  Accepting that these animals can talk and have formed little civilizations in tree hollows and caves, cobbling clothing and tools together from the Earth’s essentials, what we’re seeing… yeah, sure, seems about right.

So it was grabbing, and I’m going to keep reading Mouse Guard until I don’t.  But, looking back on this first series, it’s good to say that Petersen has grown a lot.  While his panels are certainly not static, he’s never been the best at detailing quick, precise actions, which are essential to some of the animal fights and sword fights in these six issues.  Things look so pretty and precise but then you’re sort of wondering how that blade done got there.  And the story has a rough starting point.  I understand wanting to expose us to the big picture to grab us – a threat that, er, threatens all of Mouse Guardia, but there’s the partial feeling like you’re missing something – Petersen has a tendency to leave chunks of plot in the inside cover blurb, which becomes a nice way of skipping past stock details once his style was more established but in the first series kept making me think I’d forgotten an issue – and then there’s the sense that Dave just didn’t have all of this mapped out yet.  Lockhaven should seem huge but it seems small; the travels of the mice should seem massive but they pass by too quickly.  The history feels similarly mixed, the characters discussing it with reverence, but then a quote that’s referenced early on is later shown above one of the doors of Lockhaven.  We’re told it’s printed in the headquarters, but it just compressed the world a bit, like there’s only one quote on one wall.  AND – the art.  It’s gorgeous.  But it’s not even close to the second series, much less what would come later.  The panel layouts, more confident linework, smoother coloring – all would show up as soon as vol. 2.

The heart is here, which is what matters.  And certainly you should read volume 1 if you’re getting into the series.  Going into it fresh, I definitely gave it more leeway… but checking it out now I can see some of the amateur touches to it.  And by amateur I mean ‘can write and draw infinitely better than I can.’  Aw.