Review by Ian Keogh

Ogrest has been a considerable success in its original French incarnation, running to five volumes since 2014 from creator Mig (Laurent David), but maximum enjoyment requires taking in a lot of information at the start, as a story is told within the story. The sample art reflects the world-building of a society where everyone chooses one of a dozen gods to worship when they’re thirteen.

The young Ogrest is being raised in relative isolation by an alchemist Otomai and a literal living doll Dathura, and once the explanations are over much of the book is devoted to their day to day life as an eccentric family. While there’s charm, under other circumstances this wouldn’t be as fascinating as Mig intends, but the major selling point is his seductive art. In delicate black and white the characters are given life amid attractive surroundings, such as the treehouse where the family live, while care is taken to ensure even characters playing minor roles are distinctively designed. They’re a mismatched bunch, but there’s no mistaking one for another.

Separating some chapters are portions of Trumbo the Iop’s story, which is more readily understood. Trumbo is good-hearted, but stupid and wants to better himself. Others realise he’s stupid and take advantage. It’s very dark, not least because Mig switches from toned greyscale art to starkly contrasted black and white. Whereas there’s always hope for Ogrest, Trumbo’s doomed, but it’s funny in a Wile E. Coyote way.

What becomes of primary importance is Otomai curating a dragon egg, known as a dofus. Only six are known to exist and they’re items of immense power and value. Otomai is responsible, to the point of flooding the area with fakes to deflect attention, but if others knew he possessed it… We eventually discover what a dofus can do, and Ogrest has changed massively. By that point Mig has introduced a bigger threat, giving Otomai another chance to play his effective quiet man routine. It’s very much a case of the man known to be the most powerful in the room not having to use a loud voice.

It’s going to depend on what follows in Volume 2, but there’s feeling that Mig has been carried away with enthusiasm and massively over-complicated his world, and then been too slow to develop it. However, the beguiling art ensures this is no also ran.