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Tellos #issues #1-5
Tellos Vol.1: Reluctant Heroes
A swashbuckling young man, a tiger-warrior, a pirate princess, a charismatic thief, and a kleptomaniac fox embark on an adventure as they try to figure out why the evil Malesur is hunting them.
152 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Todd Dezago
530 books16 followersTodd Dezago is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his collaborations with penciller Mike Wieringo on The Sensational Spider-Man (1996) and their creator-owned fantasy series Tellos, which premiered in 1999, as well as for co-creating Young Justice with artist Todd Nauck in the 1998 oneshot Young Justice: The Secret. His other Young Justice work includes the 1998 miniseries JLA: World Without Grown-ups. From 1999 to 2002 Dezago also wrote Impulse #50-89. In 2005 he co-created The Perhapanauts with artist Craig Rousseau.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 2, 2008
This is one of the more disappointing graphic novels from the recent crop at the library. The plot is like something out of a mediochre Dungeons & Dragons game, or one of the lesser Final Fantasy videogames -- total cliche. The artwork is vibrant, but most of the characters' facial expressions look the same. I was also somewhat bothered by the portrayal of women in the book; the only two female characters are a lady pirate and a female bounty hunter. The pirate is treated pretty well, even if she's all heaving bosom (and there's a pin-up included in the back of the book), but the female bounty hunter is all dominatrixy and scantily clad in a way that bothers me a little, since it's supposed to be an all-ages comic book.
September 16, 2022
I am in two minds over this. The art is fantastic, the world is gorgeous, the characters are well defined (if a little cliched) but the overall story is just a little bit plain. I cant think of another word to describe it as it is not boring in any way but it also is not exciting and it certainly doesnt grab you and pull you in. That said it keeps making me want to read more so it obviously has something about it!
September 26, 2020
Fun but overall kind of forgettable. It tries very hard to make lore that just isn’t all that interesting. But I can’t say I wish I didn’t read it.
August 23, 2010
GENRE: Fiction, graphic novel, superhero, fantasy, adventure.
SUMMARY: Jarek is the young boy, able to call forth a powerful genie from an amulet owned by Serra, a strong and extremely capable ship captain. Koj is the tiger-man that has been searching for his people to free them from slavery. Hawke is Serra's boyfriend, who hangs with Rikk, a fox with kleptomaniac tendencies. They battle frog soldiers, shadowjumpers, and a variety of hunters sent by the evil and powerful Malesus, who desires the amulet.
EVALUATION: I became a fan of Image comic books from their inception. I loved the colors, the large art, and the layouts. The storylines were often odd, but strange in a good way. Many things have not changed in the fifteen or so years since I collected comic books, and this book shows that Image is still putting out quality product. The storylines no longer appeal to me personally, though they are full of action.
WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: This is a collection from the Image comic books, including volumes 1-5, plus the prelude and prologue, along with some extra art. I would like to recommend compilations like this, for it will keep the tween reader busier longer than a single episode. Comic books and graphic novels are popular with tweens, and this one will not disappoint.
READER'S ANNOTATION: A group of adventurers must battle against the evil Malesus, who wants what one of them has: a amulet that unleashes a genie.
ITEMS WITH SIMILAR APPEAL:
• Any standard comic book hero fare (Spiderman, X-Men, and many others).
• Bone by Jeff Smith.
• Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures by J. Torres.
SUMMARY: Jarek is the young boy, able to call forth a powerful genie from an amulet owned by Serra, a strong and extremely capable ship captain. Koj is the tiger-man that has been searching for his people to free them from slavery. Hawke is Serra's boyfriend, who hangs with Rikk, a fox with kleptomaniac tendencies. They battle frog soldiers, shadowjumpers, and a variety of hunters sent by the evil and powerful Malesus, who desires the amulet.
EVALUATION: I became a fan of Image comic books from their inception. I loved the colors, the large art, and the layouts. The storylines were often odd, but strange in a good way. Many things have not changed in the fifteen or so years since I collected comic books, and this book shows that Image is still putting out quality product. The storylines no longer appeal to me personally, though they are full of action.
WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: This is a collection from the Image comic books, including volumes 1-5, plus the prelude and prologue, along with some extra art. I would like to recommend compilations like this, for it will keep the tween reader busier longer than a single episode. Comic books and graphic novels are popular with tweens, and this one will not disappoint.
READER'S ANNOTATION: A group of adventurers must battle against the evil Malesus, who wants what one of them has: a amulet that unleashes a genie.
ITEMS WITH SIMILAR APPEAL:
• Any standard comic book hero fare (Spiderman, X-Men, and many others).
• Bone by Jeff Smith.
• Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures by J. Torres.
August 20, 2008
I will admit there is no way I would have picked up this book if it wasn't for the death of Mike Wieringo a year ago. I, in fact, probably would have never even heard about the series otherwise, but the purchase was still due to his passing. I can't explain exactly why that is, but it is.
Wieringo was responsible for the art on my favorite run of Fantastic Four this side of Stan and Kirby. Though I believe Mark Waid was the more responsible member of the duo for my entertainment purposes, Wieringo held up his end. He would never be my favorite artist but it was solid enough.
So I figured I'd give Tellos a shot.
Going in I didn't expect much, just hoping for fun and different. And what I got was some very weak writing. Kinda Silver Age reminiscent but not in a good way. There was some pretty awkward dialogue. Some vacant motivations. Some bullish styled plotting. And stoner dragons.
As for the art, it is sufficient. Very much Wieringo through and through. Fairly consistent and tells the story, though sometimes the panel to panel transition was rough. And the villain first looks like Freakazoid...
The colorer gets an A though. And the printing reproduced the color well.
I can't really recommend this book to anyone. There is much much better things out there. And this is mediocre at best. It is more likely many shades of bad. But to be entirely honest I enjoyed myself. I think mostly because I wanted to. But if you read Tellos and hate it, don't blame me.
Wieringo was responsible for the art on my favorite run of Fantastic Four this side of Stan and Kirby. Though I believe Mark Waid was the more responsible member of the duo for my entertainment purposes, Wieringo held up his end. He would never be my favorite artist but it was solid enough.
So I figured I'd give Tellos a shot.
Going in I didn't expect much, just hoping for fun and different. And what I got was some very weak writing. Kinda Silver Age reminiscent but not in a good way. There was some pretty awkward dialogue. Some vacant motivations. Some bullish styled plotting. And stoner dragons.
As for the art, it is sufficient. Very much Wieringo through and through. Fairly consistent and tells the story, though sometimes the panel to panel transition was rough. And the villain first looks like Freakazoid...
The colorer gets an A though. And the printing reproduced the color well.
I can't really recommend this book to anyone. There is much much better things out there. And this is mediocre at best. It is more likely many shades of bad. But to be entirely honest I enjoyed myself. I think mostly because I wanted to. But if you read Tellos and hate it, don't blame me.
February 11, 2009
A fantasy story that plunges right into the action from the beginning of this graphic novel.
Koj and Jarek are on a quest to find Koj’s homeland, but are interrupted by a pirate with an amulet. Jarek is the one to awaken the amulet’s power, and this opens up a whole new world for Koj, Jarek and Serra (the pirate). Suddenly Malesur (our evil character) is aware of the trio and wants the amulet for his own power. It is interesting to see how all the different characters are woven together throughout the stories, and how they all come together in the end of this volume. A prologue is included at the end of the book for readers curious to know the forestory, though readers will not be lost if they don’t read the prologue first. The
illustrations are bright and colorful and the page layout is easy to follow. The use of different types of lettering for the characters adds another dimension to the story. This novel would work in a young adult collection. Note: there is violence, though much is implied, and Serra
is rather busty—wearing a low cut top most of the book.
Koj and Jarek are on a quest to find Koj’s homeland, but are interrupted by a pirate with an amulet. Jarek is the one to awaken the amulet’s power, and this opens up a whole new world for Koj, Jarek and Serra (the pirate). Suddenly Malesur (our evil character) is aware of the trio and wants the amulet for his own power. It is interesting to see how all the different characters are woven together throughout the stories, and how they all come together in the end of this volume. A prologue is included at the end of the book for readers curious to know the forestory, though readers will not be lost if they don’t read the prologue first. The
illustrations are bright and colorful and the page layout is easy to follow. The use of different types of lettering for the characters adds another dimension to the story. This novel would work in a young adult collection. Note: there is violence, though much is implied, and Serra
is rather busty—wearing a low cut top most of the book.
August 13, 2016
This book has a terrible story line, predictable characters, and is downright painful to read due to spelling errors and unnecessary accents. There is even a hint of sexism (busty skin-showing females, one of which is a sex-crazed moron). I found this collection of comics in the children's section of my local library. I assumed that it would be appropriate for kids, and amusing because I generally enjoy quest stories with characters similar to Final Fantasy and Dragonlance (a warrior, a thief, animal-men, strong female characters) but the collection falls completely flat of my expectations.
December 17, 2007
A great introduction to graphic novels with wonderful full color art and engaging characters. Reminiscent of some 80's adventure cartoons (He-Man, Thundercats) only written with real skill and heart.
May 23, 2016
I don't know if the other reviewers read the same book as I did, but this was a nice adventure to read with a steady storyline and cool characters.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews