Review by Frank Plowright
Writing partnership Shidan Youssefian and Roshan Youssefian somewhat overstate their opening premise by claiming life as a sock is the greatest thing ever. It’s on the basis of every day being different from the perspective of a sock, which, let’s face it, for the most part is spent inside a shoe. They’re on stronger ground after a few more pages when deciding to explore the idea of what happens to socks lost in the wash.
The socks have personalities, and naturally enough, they’re all twins, with the focus at the beginning being on Freddy and Peter. It’s Freddy who’s pulled through the portal into another dimension accessed from the washing machine. Washingtown in the Sock-Verse is where those missing socks end up, and while there’s an entire alluring society to explore, naturally enough Freddy’s first instinct is to ask how he can return to Peter. He’s told this isn’t possible by the downbeat Ruffles, but Hanks is more forthcoming, revealing a legend about a being of great power inside a cave.
To adults unable to suspend disbelief, a series about socks might not seem a winner, but the Youseffian brothers are counting on children having greater imagination. Mahui Duque takes their premise and applies simplified cartooning enabling kids to buy into a world where socks have arms and move around themselves to the point of being able to walk a dog. He creates an imaginative world of brightly coloured abstract shapes ripe for exploring, and attractive to children.
Once the possibility of a return home has been dangled, Freddy and his friends are sent from place to place on a quest. In one sense it’s another convenience to extend the story, as it’s entirely possible to send them to the final destination immediately, but Into the Sock-Verse is about the thrill of exploring new environments, so several child-friendly destinations provide stops along the way. It has the feeling of a video game, with each solved clue unlocking a new environment. The path eventually leads to something more sinister, though.
Late on, Freddy and friends are in a cart that’s never previously moved, but Freddy has the sense to push a button. That sort of convenience recurs throughout.
Labelled with a laboured pun for the series title, Into the Sock-Verse begins with a forced premise, never escapes formula, and despite the inviting art and a few moments transcending the general level of inspiration, never takes off. However, for readers who feel differently, a cliffhanger ending leads into Quest For Iron Mountain.