Mirror #1
Image Comics
By: Emma Rios and Hwei Lim
To start off with, Mirror is a very engaging comic book for the reader. The story can be confusing at times as the script seems to use the past in almost a dream like state for Ivan who ends up being a powerful idealistic mage. We see his past play out near the beginning of the Irzah Colony’s formation. We also see the love he has for his friend, a dog-girl name Sena who he sends off into hiding for her own protection. This is just the start of the emotional journey we will be going on as we find out more and more about this world.
At times, it can be confusing as to what actually just happened in the panels, but the emotions of the scene are always the strongest and foremost imagery used. The loose lines of the characters plays off the scripting of how it is a loose story, but the almost water-coloring like effect that fills in the pages gives the characters their real definition.
The conflict that is going on in the world has led Ivan to be forced by Kazbek to try and create hybrid human-animals in order to 
try and tap into the Guardian Spirits. Kazbek’s coloring and emotional characteristics lead us to see him as the villain of the book, but there has been no real encounters or conflict to justify good or bad characters. I can’t wait to see the Minotaur or the other thugs with Kazbek begin to really turn the story into a black and white “Who is good and who is bad” and further the emotional exploration.
I really enjoyed the supporting hybrid animal characters that fill out the cast and the emotional spectrum. We get a lab rat assistant (literally) who is as timid as his hybrid animal blood is, Zun. A mischievous and grumpy sphinx, Phinx who we can already see has a strong heart hidden under his catty exterior. And an old bear who knows his time is limited, Lesnik. Again, by the time I was done reading this issue, I wasn’t confident I knew everything that I had just read, but I was positive I knew what Rios and Lim wanted us to feel from the story and interactions between the characters. A second read through helped clarify the overall story, but one read through was enough to make me want to see more of this world and the other hybrids and Guardian Spirits that are out there. I really enjoyed this story telling method with a loose plot but a strong emotional story.