But Will He Brave…Ultima Thula?

Ultima Thula
Written & illustrated by David Greenblatt & Phil Nibbelink
Published by Greenlit Publishing/Arcana
Reviewed by Richard Caldwell

Jason Battle is a fallen man. Considered a war hero from his time with Special Forces in Iraq, he was human enough to have brought the nightmares home with him. Losing his wife was salt in the wound. Now working as a school janitor, the only thing he has left to drag him out from the past is his young daughter, Amy.
Enter the giant beam of electric light raining down suddenly one day from on high, pulling everyone from his small mountain town violently up up up into god knows where.
A curious thing about tragedy I think, is its energizing polarization, its invigoration of spirit and purpose. This is experienced by Battle, though in brutal terms, as he finds himself on a grim and very hostile otherworldly landscape. An insect-like alien race, battered by both plague and civil strife, has set its sites on Earth as a solution to all that ails them. But Jason Battle just wants his daughter back, at whatever the cost.
Greenblatt and Nibbelink have crafted a story of impossible circumstances, full of science-fiction horrors that at times bring to mind certain classics from the days of EC comics. They introduce us to a man who is by no means the atypical action hero, rather a victim himself of extreme levels of circumstance and loss. And in singularly facing such incredible odds, of fighting alone on an alien world of unimaginable threats, he finds within himself the hero that the people he cares about truly need.
Forgoing traditional exposition in exchange for a narrative that unravels through the violence of its plot (a technique perfected by the likes of director John Woo), the story is eventful, and at times painfully vivd with resonant emotion. Any threat that would challenge and sever dwindling family bonds is well worth fighting for, maybe even killing for. Underneath the explosions of bombasted giant insectoid limbs, this is a story of a self-doubting father and his supreme love for his child.
The art is eye-catching. Phil Nibbelink is a master animator, and his storytelling prowess and obvious love for visual presentations is abundant in this book. He employs a few different techniques here where the imagery begs for it, from more basic line art to fully painted work to digitally-enhanced frames. In a burst of inspiration, I was so impressed by the coloring effects that I tried out my old pair of Valiant Vision 3-D glasses, and let me say they worked wonderfully well.
Though many of Nibbelink’s animated films are quite family friendly, there are numerous sequences here which would not be at all appropriate for younger readers. Regardless, he handles them with a determined style that does little to belie the grace of an experienced craftsman. One shot in particular, of a gun in hand and where it is aimed, will break your heart more than everything published by the big two this year.
Ultima Thula translates into “planet of the lost”, and in keeping with the old axiom- “every man is an island”, this graphic novel exhibits well that either phrase could serve equally as metaphor for the other.
Ultima Thula is an action-packed (and well packaged) tale of redemption, and it deserves a spot on your shelves.

Look for it from Arcana.

www.ultimathula.com

update: From Phil- “David and I will be at the San Diego Comic-Con Arcana Comics booth #2514, signing copies of Ultima Thula and making free drawings on Friday and Saturday from 9:30 – 11:30. And I will be making free drawings at the Indican Pictures booth #4120 signing DVD’s of my animated feature Romeo and Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss on Thursday and Sunday from 11:00 to 3:00.”

www.arcanacomics.com
www.philnibbelink.com

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Richard Caldwell

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