Sparkplug comics sent over some of their latest books and this one really struck me as something I hadn’t seen before. These comics are very painterly and the arrangement of text and image on the page is quite peculiar. In the center of each page is the main image. The space around the image is blocked off into sections where the text and a few smaller images go. It seems like a mix of picture book format and comics format. The paintings which are very loose and sketchy seem to be made from a variety of mediums from watercolor to pen to collage and then some kind of waxy looking crayon. The stories are like fairy tales (hence the title)- golden threads appear to show how things in the world are linked, cherries fall from the sky like rain, a magic bird grants wishes. They are short and sweet and fun to read. You can get a copy of this book here or learn more about Olga here.

© Julia Rothman 2007