As with the first two issues, I liked Our Soot Stained Heart #3 better the second time I read it. During the first read, the weaknesses distracted me a little too much. But once I knew they were there, I was able to accept and partial ignore them, in order to focus more on the positives. And there are plenty of positives.
This third issue of the unique, steampunk Santa story – created by writer Joni Hägg and artist Stipan Morian – comes out on February 18 from Mad Cave Studios.
Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios
This is an origin-story issue. The story-book nature is perfectly complemented by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s story-book lettering.
And at this point, the story most definitely belongs to this world’s version of Santa Claus – a man named Thomas, but now known as the Baron. From the first page he tells a tale – not just of his own origin, but also the origin of the city known as The Coalition and its monstrous, tyrannical ruler – a man named Nicholas, but now known as Governor Glass. As it turns out, they were once the best of friends with a shared dream and the will to see it come to pass. They founded The Coalition and developed the coal-based, steampunk technology that made it flourish.
But their ambitions didn’t end there. And so, the origin story turns into a cautionary tale about the corruption of power. The lust for power – along with a mystical object – corrupted Nicholas, drove Thomas away and turned them into the enemies they are now. The dynamic is really quite reminiscent of the relationship between Professor X and Magneto in the X-Men franchise.
This exposition-heavy origin story works, because Hägg does such a good job of instilling Thomas with empathy and humility. That emotional basis allows the world to build around it.
Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios
Also, the origin doesn’t play out on its own as an extended flashback. Instead, it’s intertwined with the actual narrative of Our Soot Stained Heart. Thomas has brought his followers along with Peggy – the series’ original protagonist – to The Coalition to confront Governor Glass and bring an end to his tyrannical rule. Although Hägg and Morian do their best to set up Peggy’s critical role in bringing the violent revolution to a peaceful end, she doesn’t really do much in this issue. Her part will apparently unfold in the next – and final – issue. Instead, as I’ve said before, this issue belongs to Thomas and Nicholas – The Baron and Governor Glass – their fateful reunion and ensuing confrontation.
Unfortunately, on the first read, I was sometimes confused by transitions between scenes, which were not sequential enough to follow unhindered. There was just enough information there – often in Morian’s images – to figure out what was going on, but I still stopped and looked back to make sure I hadn’t missed a panel or a piece of narration that explained the transition more smoothly. This was also a problem in the second issue. But, when I read the issue the second time, I knew what was going on and what was coming, which smoothed out these transitions and made the narrative flow much better.
Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios
Furthermore, on the first read, I was too often distracted by some of the art. I don’t want to call Morian’s art inconsistent, because that sounds too harsh. Yes, his style isn’t really my favorite. But most of the images are very good – with interesting composition and dynamic elements. Some pages are absolutely stunning – especially detail-filled, wide-view images of The Coalition and the double-page spread of Governor Glass. But other images just look sloppy. And some of the facial features are way too exaggerated for my tastes. Having these sloppy panels right next to great ones sometimes took me out of the story.
However, like the problems with the transitions, when I read the issue a second time, I could accept and look over the sloppier images and focus more on the amazing ones. And so I enjoyed the issue much more.
Our Soot Stained Heart #3 by Joni Hägg and Stipan Morian focuses almost completely on this steampunk world’s Santa and the tyrannical Governor Glass, revealing their joint origin story, while showing their reunion and fateful confrontation. There is just something about Our Soot Stained Heart that makes every issue more enjoyable on the second rather than the first read. The somewhat inconsistent art and rough transitions were distracting the first time through. But the rich world-building, emotional foundation and very good artwork shine through on a second read.
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