Review by Frank Plowright
The young adult readership at which the adventure of The Glass Scientists is aimed may not immediately pick up on it, but the charismatic leading character being named Dr. Henry Jekyll is sure to raise suspicions among the more informed. His intervention over the opening chapter prevents first a mob, then the police dealing with a werewolf. Jekyll is a member of the Society for Arcane Sciences, who have impressively kitted out premises where rogue scientists can experiment with all kinds of unsafe practices in conditions where ethics are relaxed, and a werewolf is a prime addition to their ranks.
This is so cheerfully presented in a picture book version of late 19th century Victorian London by S.H. Cotugno that the abhorrent actually seems a jolly good idea. We meet a crypto-horticulturalist, a clockwork engineer, an ectoplasmic pathologist, and several more practitioners of the unspeakable all working toward a public unveiling. They’re viewed through the eyes of Jasper Haylock, now no longer in his werewolf state.
Cotugno is one hell of a cartoonist, great with poses and expressions, and almost a whole animation model sheet could be extracted from the drawings here. The full repertoire of poses and expressions are needed, though, as too little happens with any speed. Cotugno becomes carried away with the words, and scenes only requiring half the amount of pages are extended by long conversations, some between Jekyll and his alter-ego as per the sample art. Their dialogue all suggests speaking to an audience, and with the accompanying art it looks as if Cotugno is going to have the cast break into a song and dance number at any moment, but they never manifest. Because everything looks great, it’s not until the reading starts that it becomes obvious how little plot is stretched so far.
As noted, Mr. Hyde also makes an appearance, pictured with his other personality on the cover, but in keeping with the general tone he’s misunderstood, mischievous and contrary rather than evil. And he’s not the only rogue scientist from out of copyright literature to make an appearance.
There are many conversations and a few shenanigans before around two-thirds of the way through the usually urbane Jekyll is backed into a corner and forced to make a decision that could have profound consequences. It leaves his circumstances altered, something due to be picked up in Volume 2, but only for those who don’t mind very little happening.
