Abadazad
#1
writer: J.M. DeMatteis
artist: Mike Ploog
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. If you do,
you might see way too many influences poured into a blender
and set to chop instead of puree. Yes, the chunks of Oz, Little
Nemo, and Labyrinth still lurk on the surface of Abadazad,
but in a weird way, DeMatteis is so naked about it that it's
forgivable.
Besides, any excuse to let Mike Ploog go wild with his imagination
is a valid one. Because this first issue largely takes place
in the "real" world of Brooklyn, however, the imagery is a
bit constrained. Framed by excerpts from the original Abadazad
book, Little Martha in Abadazad (stay with me here),
Ploog still manages to make the mundane look lusher than it
has any right to be.
You say you've never heard of Abadazad? DeMatteis fills
it all in for you, and as mentioned above, it owes a huge
debt to early twentieth century children's literature. Unlike
most of its sources, however, the Abadazad books have allegedly
maintained a tight grip on children's psyches. You might be
hard-pressed to find a kid today that knows The Wizard
of Oz was a book first, but in CrossGen land, everybody
knows about Franklin O. Barrie's literary creation. (Whoops
- there's a little Peter Pan in there, too.)
So maybe there's a little bit of wishful thinking there
on DeMatteis' part. It's also a pretty common thing for writers
to exaggerate the possible success of the stories within their
stories. Yet the literary Harry Potter certainly hasn't lost
a bit of his pull on the public's imagination, despite decent
film adaptations. You have to accept this overwhelming popularity,
and the tight coincidence that make the story turn. This is,
after all, about magic.
Not just magic as in mystical powers, but the magic of childhood,
of imagination, and love, specifically Kate Jameson's love
for her baby brother Matt. Ploog has a way with drawing children,
and the emotions running through the sibling scenes really
resonate, making Matt's disappearance that much more wrenching.
Unfortunately, it's also pretty predictable.
DeMatteis sets it at a carnival, never a good place for two
children to be wandering alone. As Matt begs his sister for
one last ride, a lanky clownish stranger offers him a ticket.
It's every parents' nightmare, and Ploog draws it with a quiet
beauty. If there's any flaw in the sequence, again, it's that
this carnival is way too refined - not just for Brooklyn, but
for anywhere. Somehow, the artist makes even terror comfortingly
seductive.
But this is no stark drama about the loss of a child. Rather,
it's a dark doorway to fantastic, possibly even kid-safe,
adventure.
There's plenty of pain in the real world, and the creative
team refuses to shy away from that. There's always hope, and
one of the common themes of DeMatteis' work has been to find
that light.
The final page explodes into bright colors and only the
tip of the iceberg of Ploog's imagination, which will only
get brighter as the series progresses. By all means, pick
this one up and buy an extra copy for a kid you know.
Rating: 
Download Preview Pages
Here!
