Publisher: Boom! Studios
Release Date: January 7, 2015
An old man finds a small abandoned child in a alley, a child covered from head to toe in black feathers, just like a bird. Fearful of how others will treat him, the old man advises the child who he names Poe, to stick to the shadows and remain unseen. But Poe is curious, as any child would be, and forces beyond his comprehension are pulling the puppet strings on his destiny.
Bianca is a child of the city, safe behind the walls that separate their city from the maze outside. All her life Bianca has been warned about the riff-raff that lives in the maze, yet when she has the opportunity to visit, she uses it to run away and have an adventure. Little does she know, but that adventure is full of peril and a boy with feathers.
Reminding me of a Skellig, but with far more fantasy elements, Feathers is a wonderful graphic novel full of mystery, complexity, and wonder. Poe, despite being other, is relateable in his desire to make friends and be understood. Bianca, despite being a bit brash and overbearing, is also relateable as she too searches for friends and desires a degree of freedom that is not awarded her behind the city walls.
For me, the most interesting part of the story is the element of the winged goddess, who all the people pray to, including Bianca's mother. Yet, when Poe returns Bianca to the city and even though he is covered in feathers, the mother labels him a demon immediately. She doesn't listen to reason and no matter how often Bianca says that Poe saved her life, the mother cannot fit what he looks like into her realm of understanding. He is a demon because his feathers and black and for no other reason than this. There are definitely some real world parallels to be drawn there, but I will let you find them for yourself. I can't wait to get my hands on books two and three.
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