Brindille by Frédéric Brrémaud and Federico Bertolucci is a standalone comic book. The book opens with a mouse being swept up by an owl and taken over a giant wall towering over a forest. One side of the wall is engulfed in flame, burning like a hellish inferno. A young girl falls over the wall and hides in the forest. Said young girl then wakes up in a strange village surrounded by elf-like creatures. She wakes with no memories of who or what she is; she has no memories except the fire. The only clue she has is the small lights (almost like fireflies) that come off her. They seem to attract shadowy forces that burn and destroy everything in their path. She must find the courage to find the answers she’s looking for and face the dark forces.
I loved the illustrations; they’re whimsical, colorful, dark, and bring to life the fairy tale. The backgrounds and scenery especially are beautiful, mysterious, and stunning. The illustrations enhance the story and communicate the themes and emotions almost perfectly. The writing, however, is rough. I loved the themes and story they were trying to tell, but it needed some work. I think its biggest issue comes down to pacing because it’s way too fast. The pacing affected the characters the worst, but the plot wasn’t spared. I didn’t have enough time to connect to the characters and felt that the characters were flat. The character growth and development suffered and could have had a better impact if more time had been spent establishing the characters. For most of the story, I was confused and the ending left me with more questions. Nothing was explained well. I liked the story, but unfortunately, the writing lacks the quality of the illustrations.
I give the writing two stars, the illustrations five stars, and the book an overall score of three stars.
