The Good
What FIGMENT does incredibly well is capture the feel of Disney. Writer Jim Zub captures that fantastical feeling everyone gets when they sit through a Disney film in this opening issue. Our protagonist, Blairion Marcurial, will remind the reader of many others in the Disney universe. He's a misunderstood man, striving to do his best with someone in his life trying to hold him back. Yes, it's been done quite a few times, but this set-up is the comfort food of storytelling.
The first issue, as whole, will put a smile on your face as well as pique your interest in where the book is headed. The book is paced incredibly well and Zub introduces the reader to the world and where it's headed as they follow Blairion and the purple dragon Figment on their adventure. That's what makes this first issue a fun read. It's a solid set-up for an adventure.
This book isn't necessarily a steampunk book, which it seemed to be, but there are some steampunk elements here for fans of the genre. The time period this book takes place in works with those steampunk elements. However, said elements don't take away or distract from the main story at all.
There's some great lessons within this first issue of FIGMENT that will really speak to younger readers, who this book seems to be geared for. The book hits home that you should keep working to accomplish your goals and don't let the obstacles in your way get you down. With the addition of Figment, there's this lesson of continuing to use your imagination to create, which speaks incredibly well to both younger and older readers.
On the artistic side of things, FIGMENT is a very pretty book. It has a very nice style thanks to the efforts of Filipe Andrade and the beautiful color work of Jean-Francois Beaulieu. The colors are haunting and will stick with the reader after reading the book. The shading is fantastic, as is the color palate, consisting on mainly blues and purples, outside of the more traditional colors in the panels. Andrade's art, as a whole, really moves this story along and provides a visually brilliant story that will captivate the reader.
The Bad
FIGMENT may miss the mark when it comes to grabbing older Marvel fans. It feels written more for younger folks and folks who are kids at heart more than anything else.
There's a ton of detail lost in medium shots throughout the book. It's obvious some detail will be lost, as characters get further away, but when moving to a medium shot, things become a bit muddled, and a lot of this may be because there's no real defined inking inside the face.
The Verdict
FIGMENT is a delightful romp through the world of imagination that will please audiences both young and old. You may not know the character, but that really doesn't matter, since Writer Jim Zub gives you a very solid opening issue and introduction to these characters and the adventure they're all about to take. The art here is also fantastic as well. While there's a few very minor problems with the issue, dealing with medium shots and who the book is intended for. Overall, this is an incredibly fun ride and I highly recommend it.
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