Still on the Shelf #4 - Meridian

Originally published April 15th, 2003 on www.ComiXtreme.com. This work is, of course, © Craig Reade.

With Crossgen gaining in popularity, how does Meridian hold up to scrutiny?

Meridian is one of the first books to come out of CrossGen Comics. Admittedly, to this point, the last CrossGen book I read prior to preparing for this column was the CrossGen Primer, and based upon their phenomenal success, I thought this would be an ideal time to take a close look at one of their original titles.

The world of Demetria is the setting for this story- a planet where the surface is uninhabitable. The populace lives on floating islands held aloft by the effects of a mysterious ore, which they travel between using ships made of wood also affected by this ore. Meridian is the first of these islands, and the focus of the story. Sephie, the main character, currently holds the title of Minister of Meridian. Sephie is also a Sigil-bearer of this world. The Sigil is a mark found upon a select group throughout the CrossGen Universe, it indicates those who have been selected to weild certain powers. Sephie posseses “The Power of Renewal.” Ilahn, the major villain of this book, also bears a Sigil, which signifies he too holds a power, “the Power of Destruction.”

Last Issue-

Meridian #34 is a Key Issue, which is a place where CrossGen recommends that new readers interested in investigating the title jump in. CrossGen’s use of these “Key Issues” is a great concept- basically you are treated to something of a recap of the major events that occurred in previous issues that have relevance to the story at hand, without giving a long, boring, and detailed recap of the entire history of the comic. On this concept I commend CrossGen. Though for the regular reader, these issues seem to offer very little that is new, it certainly is a great way of pausing, orienting the reader into the direction the writer wants to take the story, and then taking off from there. Most comics jump from story to story with little or no direction, and that certainly results in some confusion when pieces of a story a reader might find important are dropped with no fanfare. Issues like this one tell you up-front what is important, so there is no confusion. It is a bit much to take in all at once, so I would recommend anyone interested in taking a look at this title begin with this issue, and read it twice.

I also took a look at issue #33, which basically tells the story of Jad, a major character thought dead by everyone. There is no doubt that he is going to resurface in a later issue. As you might imagine, he is alive and well, stranded on another island. Issue #33 chronicles exactly what he does to get a ship from the island’s inhabitants, and escape.

Thoughts-

If you are into art- this is the book for you. The entire book is beautifully drawn, and work is simply stunning. I am also highly impressed with the color- it is vibrant and deep- I really feel that there are few better examples out there of art in comics today. Steve McNiven and the rest of the team definitely deserve a great deal of credit for their work. Unfortunately, the art really seems to be the best thing about this title.

Meridian is supposed to be geared towards female readers. However, though I am not a young female, I still like to think that I can recognize a good story, regardless of whether or not the story is directed at me. While the general premise of Barbara Kesel’s story does lend itself to a deep and complex fantasy tale, I found it to be lacking. The ideas are good, but things progress at a fairly slow pace. While I am all in favor of patient and well thought-out storytelling, I do feel that there is a lack of substance: much of the major happenings in the story are glossed over, in favor of some pretty seemingly inconsequential dialogue and narration. When something major does occur, it just seems to point towards something even MORE major, that will happen sometime in the distant, undefineable future. I find it to be pretty off-putting. Perhaps the story does flush itself out in the long term, but that is something that is very difficult for a new reader to wait out, especially at $2.95 an issue.

Bottom Line-

I can’t recommend that this book remain on the shelf, as there certainly is an audience out there for it. If you appreciate amazing art, and look to that over story when deciding what books to purchase, I highly recommend this one. In addition, this one really is something I feel would be good for young women. Sephie is an intelligent woman with a good sense of responsibility who is not just another example of half-dressed, unrealistically sexy, ditzy comic heroines that are all-too common in an industry that is undeniably dominated by a male customer base.

Meridian #34 is available now, with #35 due on shelves on April 30th. In addition, CrossGen’s website does offer comics for view online- Meridian #1 is available in the free section, with most of the others available there for view with a paid subscription.

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