The Christmas season may be over, but Our Soot Stained Heart – a unique, steampunk Santa story – continues with the release of issue #2 this week. Changing gears from the conflict-filled revolutionary epic of the first issue, writer Joni Hägg and artist Stipan Morian calm things down as they explore the comfort found within the domain of the Baron (this world’s Santa Claus). But make no mistake, the urgency of resistance against oppressive forces underlies every page of this second chapter like a spirit wafting under the floor.
If you recall, issue #1 ended with Peggy – our pure protagonist – falling unconscious in the freezing arctic snows as she made her way North in search of the mythical Baron. This issue begins with her waking up in a cozy, quiet and happy home. She’s been brought to Felltown, this world’s version of Santa’s village at the North pole. Hägg imagines this fantastical place as a refuge and home for all the refugees of an oppressive world: mythical creatures of every kind who were forced away from the real world by its tyranny.
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The creative team purposely fills this place, and this issue, with a feeling of comfort, home and family. Peggy wakes up on two huge, comfy armchairs. The rooms are welcoming, tables fully set, friendly creatures here and there. Colorist Ropemann uses brighter and friendlier colors throughout in contrast to the icy blues and dirty oranges of issue #1.
Furthermore, Felltown radiates a clear sense of found family. Morian purposely makes Peggy look much younger in this issue – at least two or three years younger than she looked in the previous issue. She is the lost, and now found, child of the family dynamic. Peggy soon meets Fiina – this world’s Mrs. Claus – a towering, stern but loving mother-figure, the real manager and caretaker of this domain, and the narrator of this issue. The Baron is a quirky, joyful father-figure; at once the jolly, fat Santa of myths, but more realistic and relatable. He’s an inventor, always working on some new project or idea.
I found myself longing to live in this world and this family. Humility, contentment and peace fill these settings. It’s a complete change from Peggy’s city, The Coalition, which is dominated by tyranny, oppression and injustice. And that’s the point.
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As nice as Felltown is, Peggy has come with her testimony of the oppression going on outside this comfortable arctic village. And although Fiina and the Baron are content in their found family, being good people – not just good-natured, but truly good – they know they must do something about an unjust system they may be partially responsible for. Accordingly, at its core, Our Soot Stained Heart #2 is a story about the responsibility, duty and urgency of every good person to rise up against injustice, oppression and tyranny in the world.
And with that responsibility comes sacrifice. Hägg and Morian have created such a wonderfully pleasant place in Felltown in order to show us what could or will be lost when its inhabitants leave their safe borders to fight against injustice. Fiina’s narration continually alludes to the coming sacrifice, filling the whole issue with an underlying tension. She is well aware of what they can and probably will lose. And yet, she and the Baron never really consider passivity as an option. They are too completely aware of their duty to do what is right. The Baron unflinchingly makes the biggest sacrifices with no regrets.
If only everyone in our real world – if only I myself – lived with the same sense of duty to justice and righteousness.
Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios
I only have two real complaints with Our Soot Stained Heart #2, both of which are easily overshadowed by the issue’s positives. First off, Morian’s art isn’t always my favorite style, especially when it gets too cartoony. And a few panels look a little too sloppy. On the other hand, he also draws some epic pages, especially double-page spreads.
My second complaint is with some of the dialogue and narration. Names and places are mentioned without much context. And sometimes Fiina’s inner dialogue, which serves as the narration, is just a little too vague and hard to follow. I think this was done on purpose, because Hägg’s storytelling style is very subtle throughout. Anyway, no matter what I didn’t understand during the first read, the main themes and overall plot were always clear. Just as with the first issue, Our Soot Stained Heart #2 was better the second time through.
I think I learned something from Our Soot Stained Heart #2. Seeing the suffering of the common people under the oppression of a tyrannical system isn’t always enough to inspire action against that injustice. We see it nearly every day in the news and we’ve become numb. Plus, we’re too content in our own comfortable and safe homes. We need role models. We need heroes, willing to sacrifice their comfort and their lives to do what is right. I just didn’t expect Santa and Mr.s Claus – I mean The Baron and Fiina – to be those inspiring heroes. Seeing their sacrifice inspires me to do the same.
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