Inverloch Volume 1

Inverloch #1

by Sarah Ellerton

The top-ranking, fan-favorite webcomic comes to print!

Meet Acheron, an innocent young pup from the horned wolf-like race the "da'kor." After a chance encounter with a beautiful elf, Acheron sets out on a seemingly innocent quest--that of trying to locate another elf who has been missing for the past twelve years.

Together with his newfound companions, Acheron quickly learns that the world is not the peaceful place he believed it to be, embroiled in prejudice, hidden danger, and unexpected mystery.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Webcomic, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Young Adult

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mike Fiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume of "Inverloch" by Sarah Ellerton was, overall, pretty good. It didn't do much to explain the plot, at least, not that I could pick up on. But that works to its advantage. It leaves you wanting to know more and, of course, the only way to know more is to read the following volumes. The main premise of the first volume, without too many spoilers, is this: A young Da'Kor (an animalistic race of humanoids feared for their brutality) named Acheron meets an elvish girl named Shiara. Twelve years in the past, a close friend of Shiara was taken away and the elves blamed the Da'Kor. In an attempt to disprove the stereotypes of his race and, more importantly, win over Shiara's affection, Acheron leaves on a journey to find this elven boy lost to history.

Fans of Tolkien fantasy will find a place in this series easily. A story of elves and quests, of rogues and thieves, of glory and riches, and sweet, sweet shark butts. In my free time (maybe after I read the Iliad), I'll pick up the second volume.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick thoughts: A little slow to open but a solid core premise and interesting characters. There's strong potential here.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

The art here is clean but greatly let down by an overly-simplistic plot that never really develops into something interesting. The characters are one-dimensional, relationships feel forced, and it's not like we haven't seen this generic plot and world setting before. The illustration work is lovely, if also very simple, but this is no Elfquest.

Story: Acheron is an anthropomporphic wolf who goes against the grain in his culture: he doesn't hate humans or elves and doesn't want to make war with them any more. When he meets a beautiful and mysterious elfess in the woods, he falls instantly in love and promises to help her find her lost best friend, stolen from those very woods a decade earlier. Quest ensues.

So once again, we have the usual, "everyone else knows what is going on but no one will tell me because they want to protect me, and so I go off questing in ignorance which is even more dangerous." It was hard not to roll my eyes at all the people starting to say something important to this naive kid but then stopping and saying, "Oh I shouldn't say anything." It's such a trope (along with overhearing secret plans (oh wait, that's in here too!)) that it's hard not to be bored and annoyed by such silly writing.

The illustration work is clean and fully of digital color beauty. But it is also very simple, with minimal detail in either the characters or the background (which feels muddy and undefined most of the time). I didn't really feel an attachment to either the art or the story due to the simplistic presentation of both.

[The Book Nerd's Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a fantastical world reminiscent of Tolkien's, Le Guin's, and Paolini's, an anthropomorphic young goat/dog creature sets off on an epic quest to find a missing elf.

Acheron is a member of the infamous da'kor. Despite the fact that humans and elves believe that they are a vicious race, Acheron is a gentle fellow who only wants to please those around him. When he meets a beautiful elf named Shiara, his heart is sold and he is willing to do anything to try to gain her love. This sets him off on a grand quest to find Shiara's friend Kayn'dar.

This installment is mostly intro stuff, so not a whole lot occurs. I find that it leaves me wondering what the rest of the books will entail though, so it is fine for a book one of a series. If it was a standalone the tale would be very bland, but we have a long adventure awaiting.

Overall, a quick read starring some fantastical creatures and a mystical world. I can't judge the series too harshly yet, but color me intrigued.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you did not like the writing style in this book, do not read the rest of the series. While the art improves tremendously, the writing does not. I think it might actually get worse as the series goes on.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in here, but the plot is very weak. All of the relationships feel forced. And I do mean ALL of the relationships, not just the romances. The characters are so flat. The closest thing to character growth was when the thief took a bath and came back blonde.

[David Finger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started slow but there was good character development and it shows promise for future issues. Ione issue though: I still have problems envisioning the Da’Kor as this greatly feared race when every time we see them they look and act like Care Bears. I mean, sometimes a Da’Kor will say something like they stuck some hunter’s head on a pike, but we don’t ever see them doing anything vicious or even intimidating. Then again, maybe they are like talking honey badgers. They don’t look so tough until you see them eat a cobra.

[Liza Koppens · Rating 3 out of 5]

So for me story wise it is actually a 2 star. I Just could not connect and debated not finishing multiple times.
Now I still gave it 3 stars for a reason. And thats the art. Seeing as this is a graphic novel and not just a story to read I decided to take the georgeous art in to consideration. It was the whole reason for me to pick this one up. I love the style and the design of the characters. Wich made me decide to give it an extra star.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acheron, a horned wolf-life "da'kor" (it's fantasy - just roll with it) strikes out on a quest to find a missing elf.

The art in this was adorable though very cartoony. It seems like it was intended for a middle grade audience though there are some romantic feelings by Acheron for a female elf. Cute but a little generic. I don't think I'll continue with the series.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun webcomic story (in 5 parts, apparently) that I had read years ago. I recall the first part as a poignant tale of innocent though unrequited love, with an epic adventure and big, punchy climax! An awesome webcomic for a young adult to dig into. If once you got all the way to page 100, you'd be hooked!

[Catie Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this webcomic when I was younger! I wish the rest of the volumes would have gotten published :(

[Rachel Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acheron is a young member of the wolf-like da'kor race. The da'kor have a poor reputation for being horrible, temperamental creatures, with a taste for human flesh. Acheron hates all the old stereotypes, but is guilty of committing them himself against the hated human and elven races. But when he meets a beautiful elf in the woods, he wants nothing more than to make her smile. She tells a sad story, of her intended being stolen when they were just children. He's been missing for twelve years now and she can't leave the woods to search for him--it's forbidden. So Acheron volunteers to search for this missing elf himself.

This is basically the introduction to the entire story, so it's a little slow-paced. Not much happens other than Acheron starts out on his quest, but the entire story is beautifully written and the artwork is gorgeous. The characters' eyes are very expressive, revealing a lot of emotion. My favorite part is the fact that each page is in full color, not common among graphic novels. I really admire the writer/artist that created this series because I used to read this story when it was just a lowly web comic. And now it's been launched into a beautiful, well-told graphic novel.

[Savi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only adding the first volume but I have read the entire story that was posted online.

This was a pretty fast read with some good art. The artwork is not as stunning as her future work but it's still pretty good! The story is decent as well and kept me hooked throughout. I admit I sort of had an idea about how it would all be resolved, but there were tons of clues scattered in the story that I don't think this would come as a shock to anyone reading it. I specifically mean the part about Ash and Kayn'dar having swapped souls. This was heavily hinted at with all the flashbacks Ash was having throughout the journey (which he attributed to the pendant he was wearing).I wish the relationships were a bit more developed and the characters a little more complex, but this is not a major flaw that inhibits enjoyment of the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was shelved as YA, I think that this is more appropriately shelved as juvenile fiction. There's nothing earth-shattering in this first collected volume of this popular webcomic, and it looks and reads much like an fantasy RPG (so if you like those, you'll probably enjoy this), but the characters are cute and I do want to know what happens enough to read more. A little latitude is probably in order, because this was Sarah Ellerton's first comic work, which she was doing only as a "hobby" at the time. It's likely that her character models, backgrounds, and scripts improve as the comic goes on (and I hope that someone edited those more carefully since there were at least 3-4 typos).

[Treasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather enjoyable. This is probably the first graphic novel I have read that I actually enjoyed. (That might not be true, but nothing else is coming to mind at the moment.) I think this is mostly because of the illustrations, which are bold and colorful and not overly anime-ish (I am not a huge fan of the anime style of drawing). And it has an interesting plot about a fuzzy creature named Acheron who befriends an elf and volunteers to help her save her friend. Unfortunately, this is only Volume 1, and no libraries in Maryland seem to own Volume 2. So I will have to rely on ILL if I want to find out what happens.

[Miramira Endevall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is an excellent example of why I think writers need editors. The story concept is fascinating, the characters are good, but the ending is...confusing. There are inconsistencies in the story that make the ending not actually make sense (there are more souls than bodies at the end), and I think that having someone reading her work before she published it and saying things like, "Hey, this seems like there are more bodies than souls at the end," or, "Hey, the ages of your characters don't jive from one chapter to the next," would have been a very very good thing. Good story somewhat ruined by poor editing.

[Najela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork takes some getting used to. Obviously it's nearly 8 years old at this point, but it's still good to see that the artist is progressing. The writing is a little stilted as well, but I think that's more of a personal choice for me. I don't like a lot of dialogue and I try to avoid it if I can. Not everyone has stories that can be told that way. I hope the webcomic version isn't too much different than the print version because that's what I read. If so, I think my gripes with the webcomic version have probably been addressed in the print copy.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Ellerton has created one of the most beautifully drawn comics in Inverloch. It was my favorite online comic, back when I had to wait each week for a few new pages in the saga. T

The character development is worth the slower plot of this traveling adventure and Sarah created a whole new species to mix in with the humans and elves in this story. If you believe that comics are a valid medium of story-telling, you should check this series out.

[Ham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it was very simple and kind of slow, I found myself drawn into the story and wishing it didn't end so abruptly. I think I know the "secret" everyone's talking about, and if I'm right, then the series as a whole will lose a star. I like to be surprised. Cool cartoony art, but I do tire of the computer "paint" look. (I also didn't like it when The Simpsons went the way of the digital.) But I supposed I ought to get used to it, since ink and paper seem to be things of the past.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for any kid who likes manga. Reminded me a bit of Bone, definitely a read-alike. Overall, a cute comic story for kids, probably like 5-6th graders. Not that 4th grade or younger couldn't read it, but the main characters are like, 20, and at some point, when you're a kid, it gets weird to read about characters that much older than you.

[Mira Domsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A manga style graphic novel version of a webcomic. Acheron is a Da'Kor, some kind of a humanoid, cat-like race with horns, in a high fantasy world. His life changes when he meets an elf named Shiara, and makes her a promise. This volume is cute, but a little tough to follow at times. I feel like I'm missing something. The artwork is very cute.

[Door Person · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the print version of an incredible webcomic. The story is inventive, and the art is beautiful. Poignant and funny, the story it tells is a serious one, yet it does not take itself too seriously. Excellent characters.

[Thalestral · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review applies to all 5 volumes of Inverloch, which can be read in full here: http://inverloch.seraph-inn.com/ (it's out of print). I found this super addictive and the art is lovely - definitely recommend to any fantasy comic fans.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book almost childish. The story has one of the old disney tales. It feels they set alot of the story in the beginning but really don't tell alot of information. I just feel like the pace the book is taking is really slow. If that holds up throughout the series I doubt I will like it.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. My favorite part was the artwork. The characters felt very familiar as did the plot. It might be a good choice for fans of Amulet and/or Bone. The plot felt very rushed and pieced together to me.

[Chris Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a first comic strip collection, and in part it shows. There are too few characters, not enough action and the art is a little flat. However, it was able to hold my interest and I hope it develops into something more. It's all available free online, shop I might read on.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story but the illustrations were more anime-like than Ms.Ellerton's other work, The Phoenix Requiem. Still all were beautifully drawn and there was much detail but it's not my favorite style.

[Aven · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5

For some reason, as a kid, I always thought the elves were siblings and I was weirded out by their whole dynamic.. needless to say this doesn't really hold up but it holds a special spot in my heart purely out of nostalgia

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume of a now published web comic story by Sarah Ellerton

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excelente webcomic

[Silvereyedlynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best comic I have read, warmly recommend reading!! :)