Warning: this could leave you scratching your head, or pulling out your hair. Here is one of those deep reads like Transmetropolitan or Sandman that makes you wish you were smarter. But unlike those titles there is no single character guiding you though. There are seven leads and they all start off in their own story against a backdrop that is equal parts folklore and gibberish.

If you are looking for entertainment, excitement and emotion this seems too intellectual for its own good – but do persevere. There will be an idea, a setting or a character that grabs you such as Pirates on the New York subway, or a Kit Kat wrapper in the Fae realms and you are hooked.

The fact that the stories do start as separate tales and every few issues you have to stop and start from the beginning with a new character’s life can work against it. You can feel like you are making no progress or being overwhelmed with ideas. But the little easter eggs that cross between stories give you a smug little boost to keep you reading.

Being a collection of miniseries there are lots of different artists but most veer toward a shadowy palette and the stories tie together thematically because of this. Having different looks and panel structures also differentiates between the characters and their lives. This enforced diversity achieves much more than a single artist could and the shorter page count lets the illustrators be more creative.

Thumbs Up!