Disciples of the Soil
Cartoonist: B. Mure
Publisher: Avery Hill Publishing
Publication Date: July 9
Price: $12.95
Buy Disciples of the Soil.
I might be doing it wrong. I read Disciples of the Soil by B. Mure, out now from Avery Hill Publishing, with no prior exposure to the Ismyre series, of which this is the fifth volume. However, Mure provides a helpful character list up front with pictures and roles, which helped me quickly get into the flow. The tale features anthropomorphic animal characters and a fantastical society with conflicts that feel characteristic of a real place.
At the heart of the story is unrest sparked by the building of a new train system that some citizens disagree with, due to its disruption of nature and magic and its high financial cost. We learn that the town has public officials, a media, a police force, a church, and a working class.
Primary characters from a large cast include Ed, a sculptor who is a cat man, Faustine, a friend of Ed’s who has two children and appears to be a dog or wolf woman, Margaret, who is Mother Superior and a chicken woman, and the Prime Minister, who is a dog woman. Even with the relatively short time spent on each, I got a sense of core character traits and was quickly invested in their stories.
Mure’s art is expressive and organic, with loose inks and vivid watercolor. He has a knack for showing illustrative character moments and then zooming out to show larger landscapes and crowd behavior. Even when very little is said in a scene, the primary actions are clear.
While the whimsical appearance of the art might cause you to expect a more mellow story, it is instead high-stakes and moving. Moments of subtle humor lighten the tension. Aside from the animal people, a visual hint of magic, and a fantastical religious system, the elements of the world feel grounded in reality.
I don’t want to give too much away because I think the discovery process is part of the joy of reading Disciples of the Soil. The combination of fantasy and real-world themes of power and dissent work well together. I think this comes down to Mure’s observational skill and abilities to show the nuances of political choices and experiences of protest. Although it’s clear where his sympathies lie, the actions of each party feel realistic rather than one-dimensional, and the story builds to a powerful climax.
Some primary events of the volume come to a close, but I will warn you that it ends on a cliffhanger. Despite this, I felt very rewarded for picking up the book. While I was able to understand this volume well on its own, I suspect I’ll gain further depth and context from reading other parts of the series (I plan to read them soon). If you want to learn more about Mure’s creative process and series themes, check out this interview from The Beat.
Disciples of the Soil is a fast read but it’s also a meditative one. It left me pondering the consequences of societal choices and what we may have to sacrifice to speak up. This thought-provoking gem is well worth your time, whether it’s your first encounter with the realm of Ismyre or your fifth.
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