Life is pretty good being a gigantic crocodile god: spend your days lazing on the riverbeds of the Nile while your devotees shower praise and juicy offerings upon you. But Sobek's idyll is broken and he must limber into action when a distraught priest relays news of affront and vandalism from the followers of Set. An all-new, unmissable stunner from James Stokoe.
James Stokoe (born September 4, 1985) is a Canadian comic book artist who is known for his work on such titles as Wonton Soup, Orc Stain and Godzilla: The Half-Century War. Along with Corey Lewis, Brandon Graham and Marley Zarcone, he's a part of a studio/collective called "Yosh Comics".
I was hoping that this would be a series or something, but it seems to be a one-off story. It’s about the Egyptian crocodile god, Sobek. The god Set and his followers attacked and defiled Sobek’s temple and the city it’s in, so three dudes, one of whom seems to be a shaman or priest, travel on the river Nile to seek Sobek’s help.
The story wasn’t at all what I expected. Sobek is a chill dude who likes to eat and sleep, so although he agrees to help his worshippers, he takes his time getting there often stopping to sleep. And when he gets rid of Set and his followers, the result is not what Sobek’s worshippers expect.
The book is short (about 32 pages), but I was satisfied with the story’s length. The illustrations kept me turning the pages and the story’s wry humor kept me interested and entertained. Although I’d like it to be a series, I believe the short length works best for this story. I just want a bunch of these one-off stories about Sobek and to see more of Stokoe’s art.
ART STYLE
I love it. Stokoe’s illustrations in this comic book are very detailed. As I said before, it’s the cover that got me first. When seen in person, the gold foil used to decorate the accoutrements Sobek is wearing winks at you, pulling your attention to notice the giant crocodile on the cover and how intricately detailed it is. When added to Sobek’s immense size, the gold leaf used with the accessories Sobek is wearing give the sense of majesty worthy of this god.
Throughout the story, Sobek’s size is always emphasized and is a constant reminder that he’s a colossal supernatural being. It was entertaining how his size is used to surprise and amaze those reverent to him, like the boy who accompanied those sailing on the river to seek Sobek’s help.
The intricate detail continues throughout the story. It’s seen in Stokoe’s illustrations of the landscape, the pedestal Sobek lazes on, the boat the men sail on… everything. It makes the art stand out and really appeal to me. I also like the colors used: soothing blues and greens that seem to blend into each other for the landscape, and a subtle red fading into yellow that hints at sunsets. A lot of dark ink is used to emphasize and further define the illustrations, but it’s not overpowering.
OVERALL: ★★★☆☆
A short, funny comic book about the giant Egyptian crocodile god Sobek with amazingly detailed illustrations.
(3,8 of 5 for nice short about gods being gods) I came across Stokoe and I like the art. And because this is a short story I managed to squeeze it into my reading schedule. And I liked it. The art is fun, the story is simple but cool with a very nice but classic premise about gods hearing our wishes, but they work on a different scale than we expect. But a short story is limited on space so it's really simple and that can be a bit disappointing.
Short, dumb, but oh so fun! A group of Egyptian townsmen go on mystical journey in search of their crocodile god, the titular Sobek, to ask for his help in their fight against Set who is hell-bent on destroying their hometown. Turns out Sobek's a major bro dude and nonchalantly accepts their request... And destroys their entire city in the process! The story is light, with hints of parody. It's pulp But the artwork... That's where it really shines. If you know any of Stokoe's work, you know what I'm talking about. It's very reminiscent of his Orc Stain series to me. Beautiful stuff! To bad it's so damn short..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Brilliant art supports a fun, short one-off from James Stokoe. In it, two warring gods and their followers square off over the patronage of an ancient city along the Nile.
A fantastic short comic by Stokoe. He always manages to impress with his insane level of detail and microscopic line-work. This was a pretty funny comic. A group of people boat up river and ask Sobek, a giant Alligator God to fight of Set, another giant who's taken over their town. The whole thing is very dramatic and serious except for when Sobek opens his mouth and he's very sarcastic and lazily swims back down river to fight Set.
Джеймса Стоко многие знают как представителя школы сверхдетализированного рисунка. "Собек" — короткий, страниц на тридцать, рассказ из жизни Древнего Египта о том, как храм крокодильего бога был захвачен представителями конкурирующего культа, и собекопоклонники обращаются к своему патрону за помощью.
Дальше всё идёт не так, как ожидаешь, и не так, как, наверное, ожидали сами почитатели, но всё сделано настолько остроумно — и герои, и события, и диалоги, — что рассказ превращается практически в анекдот. Очень понравилось, рекомендую на досуге. Спасибо comicsource за наводку, и вот традиционное небольшое превью.
This was excellent, like all of Stokoe's work that I have read. This details the awakening of the Egyptian crocodile god known as Sobek. The cult of Set has been about some naughty business and the massive creature goes to investigate and deal with the trespassers. What sells this is the art, like all of Stokoe's work. Do I think an awakened Egyptian crocodile god would look at his faithful followers and say, "what's up guys"? No, probably not, but dang it the tongue in cheek way he writes the words that his art supports is the selling point here also. There are many selling points to Stokoe's work but what it boils down to is a guy who does it all and is good at everything but excellent at drawing comic books. This is another well waited entry into this man's library. It is small, his body of work but man is it influential and beautiful. Can't recommend this one enough. -Danny
When I see boxes of back issues in comic shops, this is exactly the kind of thing I wish they were full of. Sure, it's nothing profound or complex, but it's pure fun: a simple, self-contained story packed with exciting action, light-hearted humour, big monsters and fucking awesome artwork. To me this delivers everything promised by the idea of single-issue comics.
I wish it was longer, so that's clearly a sign of a strong comic. In Sobek, we get a short, funny little tale about a showdown between two Egyptian deities, rendered in Stokoe's wonderfully detailed artwork. It's basically what people love about Stokoe's Godzilla and Aliens comics, just done in one short single issue.
The art is great and I honestly wish I had read it in some kind of oversized format to appreciate all the details in the art, but the story is very short. There is not much dialogue or plot to this one, it is pretty much all about the art.
Historia o tym, jak król krokodyl Sobek został poproszony o uratowanie świątyni ludzi. Opowieść ze świetną, pełną detali grafiką, humorem i piękną kolorystyką. Tylko czemu takie krótkie!