Set in an alternate British Empire, The Lion & The Unicorn is where technology and fantasy intertwine. The King is on his death bed, new leaders and corporations with extremely advanced technology known as TechGnosis bring a new governmental system to London. The use of psychic magic is just a way of life in this society, however its uses can be manipulated by those that mean harm. The Lion and The Unicorn are not just symbolic of the Kingdom but they are actual characters within the story who the nation depend on. A forgotten war hero (The Lion) and a courageous girl (The Unicorn) are the Kingdom’s only hope to save them from an oppressive government.
A very unique book and story, influenced by science fiction from Bladerunner to Akira, creator Ash Pure proves his talent in the genre. Ash has created black backgrounds and photographic images to enhance the experience when reading on a tablet due to the backlight making the images more contrasting and striking, leading to The Lion & The Unicorn having a very modern urban style with a surreal dream-like quality that is, of course, created for the modern reader. The Lion & The Unicorn was nominated for the 2014 British Comic Awards Best Comic, and it is extremely innovative in execution. Although it has a very interesting concept, there is, however, a lack of structure to the story.
It feels slightly vacant in terms of context, with this element only made up by some very inventive style of lettering which interchanges and has a rather poetic feel. It all sort of feels like you’re in a virtual reality with a flurry of stunning visuals and text making you think that maybe you’re supposed to be missing pieces of the puzzle. You might be intrigued to keep up with it and find out where the story is heading, and you can even enjoy filling in the gaps yourself as it does slowly build up to something – a big event perhaps. A lot of credit must go to creator Ash Pure, who is writer, artist and publisher of his own comic. All his creative talent has gone into this book and it does show with a lot of energy and charm.
THE LION & THE UNICORN 1 – 3 / CREATOR: ASH PURE / PUBLISHER: SELF-PUBLISHED / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
