Review: Thimble

Review by David Ferguson
Art by Jason Browne
Written by Jason Browne and Sarah Roe
Lettering by Phil Roe

I happened to be reading The Wren Vol 1 the other day so it was interesting to look at the first issue and compare it to Thimble, the new first issue from Buttonpress. Jason Browne’s art has come on leaps and bounds since then and there are other small things like balloon placement that show a creative team with a whole lot more experience. I was also comparing them to see what makes Thimble different and where it sits in the world of Hibernia (The book is set in the same world as the Wren but you don’t have to have read that (or Artos). You can pick up this book cold). Sometimes you get “spin-off” books that are just a variation of the original that struggle to be different but Thimble has enough differences from the start for it to stand on its own. Jack (The Wren) and, the star of Thimble, Cora are very different characters. Apart from the obvious boy versus girl differences, Cora has a different motivation so it immediately makes it a different kind of book. Jack wants to be a superhero but I think Cora is driven by something else. Something that stems from her origin (no spoilers from me). There are other differences but you can discover those yourselves.

This issue gets through her origin story and on to her first adventure so it packs it plenty of story without feeling too rushed or too wordy. The cover design was my favourite thing on the art side of things. There’s a pretty cool logo too on there too. Suits the character. Jason Browne’s style really lends itself to this kind of story. There was a nice use of colour in flashback sequences to distinguish them from the main plot. As I said at the beginning, small things that show the experience of the creative team. Basically, it gives me what I want from a first issue: some origin, some story progression and hints of something to come.

Thimble issue one will be launched at Cork Comic Expo at Mahon Point Shopping Centre on April 25th.