Review by Frank Plowright

Considering the quality of his back catalogue J. H. Williams surely has nothing left to prove to anyone, yet you’ll go a long way to locate anything as artistically ambitious as Echolands. Williams dazzles as he merges different styles to represent different genres that coalesce into page after page of immensely captivating beauty. You can open any page at random and be sucked into the people, the environment and the detail to the point of not caring what the story is about, which would be a mistake, but so it is.

Williams composes the story across landscape spreads that can feature pretty well anything he feels like illustrating, such is the set-up, so the sample art features a few from the main cast, along with a glorious undersea painting. That every person is drawn in a different style from cartoon to hyper-realism might indicate visual clash, yet you’ll be surprised how easily you’ll come to accommodate a Kirbyesque hero standing next to a black and white vampire and similar contrasts. The process material at the back, though, shows just how much colourist Dave Stewart brings to the table. His is also a virtuoso performance on Echolands.

Central on the cover is Redhood, who sets everything in motion by stealing an item greatly valued by imperial wizard Teros Demond. Her fellow thieves, most also pictured on the cover, resent her foolhardiness endangering them all, and they’re forced to flee when hunted down by Demond’s daughter. Williams also contributes to the plotting and scripting, collaborating with W. Haden Blackman with whom he’s produced memorable material in the past. In terms of plot they don’t give a lot away in an opening volume where Redhood and friends must vacate one bolt hole after another as they’re chased down, but the plot’s really not the point. When was the last time your sense of wonder was really awakened by a comic? It will be here via the exotic locations and the sheer energy rush as one startling concept after another passes before your eyes.

However, will that be enough come Echolands 2? Everything is so new and startling that so few of the cast transcending a wafer thin personality is forgivable, but it’s going to need some work. Perhaps that’s building toward the end as Rosa, the most pugnacious of the crew arrives back on her homeland of Horror Hill, revealing some background. The future is also disclosed by means of the opening page to each chapter, and the omens aren’t good.

Blackman and Williams go the extra mile with the chapter breaks. Each features portions of a two page interview with the skin crawling Demond, preceded by a cleverly oblique prophecy of what’s to come and followed by daft newspaper ads and a gnomic single panel cartoon strip. Also, and unusually, there’s an insight into Williams’ working time. He lists his music playlist, and the total is around 200 albums per chapter. Maybe next time Stewart can provide his list.

This is a stunning first volume, and it’s difficult to imagine anyone regretting the purchase.