Little Bird Chapter One Review

Writer/Creator: Darcy Van Poelgeest

Artist/Creator: Ian Bertram

Colours: Matt Hollingsworth

Letters: Aditya Bidikar

Design: Ben Didier

Published by: Image

Before I start this review, I spotted something that made me really happy, as someone from Canada, as I was reading this issue: Van Poelgeest is clearly Canadian as well (without looking up his bio) as he uses the Canadian spelling for words throughout. Awesome!

As for the comic itself: the story revolves around the titular character Little Bird who lives in a world where the United States of America has become a state overrun by religion, and now called the United Nations of America, and seem to be spreading their influence, and in this case, into Canada. After being left behind by her mother, Little Bird is tasked with finding and freeing a man named simply The Axe.

As we progress through the issue, we get to learn enough about the world and it’s a dichotomy of ideas and way of life. On one hand, you have the United Nations of America that has succumbed to absolute zealotry and overuse of technology. This is shown through the eyes of the character Bishop - a seemingly high-ranking official who we see being bathed and groomed by robots, see his zealotry on display on TV, and get a glimpse of who he was via flashback.

On the other hand, you have Little Bird and her mother Tantoo, who seemingly live off the land and have a more primal way of life. At various points during her journey, Little Bird refers to herself as the wolf, and it comes off as more of a comparison and less as a boast. You can also see that they are less tech based by the man she is searching for named The Axe because, well, his weapon is the same as his name: an axe.

The presentation of this dichotomy makes for a great first issue as it provides just enough information as to the situation at hand coupled with a fair bit of action. Van Poelgeest also offers a nice glimpse into each character’s motivations throughout, making you want to know more.

Ian Bertram’s art is a great fit for this type of comic as he provides great, cinematic shots throughout. His art is in your face with the action but also allows for the more introspective moments. I was reminded a bit of Frank Quitely while reading as the style is similar when looking at the characters - not at all a bad thing. I also really enjoyed the fun he had with the paneling throughout as he didn’t limit himself to boring old regular panels all the time. He definitely has fun with them during the action scenes.

This is another stellar book coming out from Image and is highly recommended. Also, if you are looking to get this, from the back-matter, it seems this will only be available in single issues for the time being, so if you want a copy, or are usually a trade-waiter, you might want to jump on this fast before they are all gone.