reflection

Even though there weren't any dialogue or captions, BROKENLAND is a layered book filled with intriguing artwork, and has something to say about what it's like living in the world today.
Pencils/Ink
Coloring

Review: BROKENLAND #2 Is A Heaping Pile Of Surreal Entertainment

What is Brokenland, you ask? It’s a world that’s just a little off, filled to the brim with trash and muck and grime. It’s home to a variety of creatures (Beings? Monsters?) of varying shapes, sizes, and colors. It’s all unsettling. And it all hits a little too close to home.

Brokenland #2 is written, illustrated, and colored by Drew Morrison. The book is currently being funded on Kickstarter.

brokenland 1 cover

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Story

BROKENLAND is a dialogue-free series written, drawn, and colored by Drew Morrison. It is a comedic story of growth, change and the growing waste problem. It takes place in a tough city populated by all manner of weirdos and centers around Meeso, a timid creature whose intentions often go overlooked. Meeso would like to do some good but isn’t sure where to start. In this first issue, several events offer a path.

The first thing you’ll notice when skimming the first few panels of Brokenland is the lack of dialogue, or text for that matter. ‘Lack’ is probably the wrong choice of words, however, as the story is anything but.

There’s a lot going on in this book, both in the calamitous world being displayed, as well as in what message writer Drew Morrison is trying to convey. In the middle of it all is Meeso, a pale, amorphous character who is trying to fit into the world around him, by literally changing its form to adapt to any given scenario. Meeso serves as the reader’s vessel, roaming through the upheaval, attempting to bring some optimism to the peculiar beings it comes across via sweet treats.

Though you’re not getting any dialogue or captions here, you’re able to pick up on the narrative and Meeso’s intentions fairly easily, which is a testament to Morrison’s skill as a visual storyteller.

Art

Morrison relies solely on his artwork to tell the story of Meeso in Brokenland — and he sticks the landing. But the artwork tells way more than simply the narrative. On the surface, the pages just seem cluttered and ridiculous with oblong creatures, and grime-laden backdrops. It’s an array of absurd colors and textures that can easily come across as overwhelming, and downright disturbing.

But as mentioned earlier, it all hits a little too close to home. Meeso is trying to navigate through this calamity depicted in the artwork. It’s very much a surreal interpretation of scrolling through a Twitter feed nowadays. And Morrison was able to capture that anxiety into compelling artwork with layers of context.

Conclusion

You can support Morrison and Brokenland #2 by helping fund the Kickstarter. For more information, visit the Brokenland website, or follow Drew on Twitter and Instagram.

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Michael Fromm
Michael Frommhttps://www.michaelefromm.com/
Michael E. Fromm is an all-around scrivener, writing screenplays (short and feature), short stories, novels, poetry, blogs, articles, and press releases. Since first learning to hold a pen, he has done little but read, watch, and write about characters and worlds of fantasy. It would be very difficult to find him without a pen in hand and an idea in mind, which is problematic for anyone wanting to have a conversation with him. Michael graduated from Rowan University, primarily focusing on improving his skills as a filmmaker and screenwriter. After said schooling, he joined an elite force of Rowan grads who also had the notion of becoming filmmakers. This group, known as Justice Productions, call on him every so often to write short films. And, until this whole writing thing pays off, Michael currently does development & marketing communication (writing, graphic & publication design, social media and website upkeep, etc.) for a web development company in Central New Jersey, where he currently resides.
Even though there weren't any dialogue or captions, BROKENLAND is a layered book filled with intriguing artwork, and has something to say about what it's like living in the world today.Review: BROKENLAND #2 Is A Heaping Pile Of Surreal Entertainment