4 out of 5

I buy a fair amount of comics and books and music. I buy a fair amount, and I take a while to get to it, because I want to do my best to experience whatever it is, which was also the reason I started up writing these reviews. When I stare at my stacks and stacks of media, I firstly recognize how fortunate it is that I have (or so I tell myself) the funds to buy that stuff, but I also admittedly think back to when it was more difficult to get that one CD, or the fun of discovery of books / comics on used shelves; you naturally had less, and naturally had more time to allot to those things as a result. Setting aside that all of that stuff still applies to a degree – dollar bins and used book stores obviously still exist – I find it telling of my tastes when something arrives and it automatically becomes the next thing I dive into, sequence of the piles be damned.

Which occurred with Scott Chantler’s new graphic novel, Squire & Knight.

Scott’s blurbs in the process sections in the back are good summaries of the pitch: “T. H. White plays Dungeons & Dragons with Arthur Conan Doyle” – swords and sorcery blended with oddball adventurism and sleuthing; check, check, check. The balance of the tale is right in the Three Thieves wheelhouse, with a youthy POV overcoming the ignorances of the adult world into which that youth – here just ambiguously named Squire – is thrust. But for as much as I love the Thieves books (and much of Chantler’s output), S&K feels like years of craft nearly perfected: the pacing, the comedy beats, the look of the art and colors, and the intermingling of tones and storytelling styles are all done so well that you are immediately comfortable with Scott’s story and characters, while being equally excited to see how this thing rolls out.

There’s a careful push-and-pull to that tone: the squire is paired with Sir Kelton of Eldergard, who we immediately recognize as the type of knight who looks great in armor and boasts of great battles… but who has possibly never swung a sword. As Squire politely corrects some of his statements or nudges him along, it’s clear his companion has maybe gotten him through many more scrapes than he realizes. As the duo wander into a small town (of wonderful D&D denizens) seemingly beleaguered by a dragon, we’re excited to find out what this iteration of the “scrape” will be. Indeed, Kelton goes tromping off to slay said dragon, while Squire starts to put together clues suggesting something else may be wrecking the town…

Scott’s art has never been more everything than it is here: funny; exciting; emotive; and just plain good. The misleadingly “simple” art style – sort of a clare ligne look, leaning more toward a cartoonish expressionism – is a masterful juggling of details and guidance, knowing how much to put on a panel or page. Much of the pacing relies on semi-repeated panels; one admitted downside of this is that larger scope action doesn’t necessarily translate perfectly – things get quite complex in the book’s final third, and things get maybe a bit too animated for the generally more step-by-step style of the story, but all of the individual elements are so much fun (and the intention of these scenes is never unclear) that it doesn’t break the book’s spell.

The general look of this thing is also quite gorgeous, from the book design (Sunny Lee, Yan L. Moy) to the square-bubbled lettering, and especially the colors – sticking to a cool, autumn palette that can be both calming and mysterious as needed.

Some words in the back indicate maybe there could be other Squire & Knight tales in the future; yes please. Fill up my bookshelf with these stories – I will happily interrupt my reading pile for the next Scott Chantler project.