Canto II: The Hollow Men

Canto #2

by David M. Booher, Drew Zucker (Illustrations), Phillip Sevy (Inker)

Once, a little tin slave with a clock for a heart broke all the rules--he found love, took a name, and escaped his masters to go on an epic journey to save his beloved. Along the way, he met strange allies and terrifying enemies and, ultimately, though his adventure didn't turn out as planned, he returned to his people and led them to freedom.

Now the fan-favorite all-ages comic fantasy continues with book two!

The freedom that Canto won so desperately is in danger, as he discovers his people's clocks will stop unless they return to captivity. He and his friends Falco, Rikta, and Veratta embark on a new adventure to save the lives of all their people. On their quest, they'll encounter old friends, relentless monsters, and the village of the mysterious Hollow Men. Will Canto and his friends lift the curse and save their people before time runs out?

Collects Canto II issues #1-5 plus the Clockwork Fairies one-shot.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Childrens

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2021

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy this series about the little clockwork knight, Canto, so much. Canto has freed his people from the Shrouded Man but they find out they are cursed. Their clocks will run down if they don't return as slaves for the Shrouded Man. Well, there's no way Canto and his huge heart will let that happen so it's off on a quest to find away to beat the Shrouded Man.

This all-ages story bring in elements from some of my favorite childhood stories. I see elements of Labyrinth and Middle Earth in the storytelling while this could be set in an undiscovered corner of Oz. Zucker's illustrations are perfect for the fantasy setting.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art! The story! Did I mention the art and the story? This second volume about the little robot Canto has so much meaning about friendship and love. I’d say it’s perfect! Little Canto has what I look for in others: courage! We must have courage!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.

At the end of the first book, Canto’s people leave Arcana to make a New Arcana. The first chapter is a short side-story where Canto frees some fairies from being tortured by an evil witch. Then, we go into New Arcana and see Canto and his friends in their new home. The Shrouded Man hasn’t come after them, but that’s probably because he has cursed their clocks to slowly wind down. Canto and a few friends decide to travel back to the Tower and confront the Shrouded Man, hoping to beat their clocks and get the curse reversed. Along the way, they are attacked by The Furies, and Canto realizes that not all of his friends can come with him. He reaches his destination and hopes he has found a magic that can take down the Shrouded Man. Canto’s journey is definitely not over here, and the nice cliffhanger will have fans scrambling for the next volume.

This is truly an all-ages adventure that draws on The Labyrinth, The Wizard of Oz, and other great fantastical worlds to create a daring adventure story that students will love. My personal favorite, other than Canto, of course, is the cuddly, scary-looking Malorex, Canto's trusty friend and (basically) his steed, who is definitely a modern Ludo from Labyrinth. We do get a few more of Canto's race in this story as they are part of most of the journey this time, and it's great to see some more brave little tin people like Canto. All of them are such lovable characters, so the readers will be rooting for them all to figure out how they can win against such a formidable foe.

There is a little bit of violence in this series, but it's mostly magic related, so there isn't any blood. There is an LGBTQ+ character whose relationship is very subtly included, which is a great example of how writers can fold in characters from diverse backgrounds in a very natural way.

Just like the first volume, Zucker's illustrations sometimes steal the entire show. There are a few full-page or double-page spreads that are breathtaking in their beautifully balanced colors. Zucker has created a world that I would like to walk into and explore. I could easily see the inclusion of Canto in an art study with high school students, who will also enjoy the story the illustrations go with.

Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 5-12

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.
Read as single issues.

The charming continuation of our Clockwork Hero's adventures, picking up after the end of the first arc. (This collection also includes the "Clockwork Fairies" one-shot, making the series current as of this writing.)

Again, the art perfectly supports the title in telling the story; this arc is a bit "heavier" than the first arc, IMO, but still is perfectly acceptable for all-ages, I imagine. (In either case, it still puts a big smile on my face to read these issues.)

[Chris Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still liking the little clockwork-hearted stoves running around having adventures. And they ride hairless Wookie-rat hybrids. And they fight a guy literally named The Shrouded Man. Throw in elves, flying harpies, witches, fairies….sound unoriginal? Don’t think you have the dish figured out just because the ingredient list is one you have seen many times. There is heart (sheesh, I can’t escape it) in this story that many fantasy stories lack. Art is very good as well. Looking forward to part 3.

[Estibaliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As cute as the art and Canto himself are, I can't say the storytelling is working for me. In fact, it feels quite stereotypical and superficial, and almost as hollow as the men that give name to this second volume.

And I might have not been paying too much attention either, because I'm not even sure how Canto breaks the curse on said hollow men...

So yeah... superb art, but close to the 2 stars when it comes to my interest on this.

[Scott's Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully heartwarming story with plenty of endearing and engaging characters. Booher and Zucker did a great job at continuing the story and maintaining the consistency of Canto's story. It's lost a star by no fault of its own, but more a fault of mine as I was expecting the emotional tugs and heartfelt moments that I experienced in the first story, therefore making them less impactful.

A recommended read for everyone who enjoyed the first one.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of Canto begins with Canto learning of a curse that the Shrouded Man placed on his people for their clocks to run out while his remains ticking. Canto must go on another dangerous quest to save his people.
Once again, I love the heart-touching moments this graphic novel has despite the lives the characters lead. For such a short graphic novel, I feel like it really packs a punch.

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this story

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this one a bit more than the previous book, but all the same, I felt like the story was somewhat incomplete. Canto felt like a self-contained story, but I was disappointed to see that this book ended where it did, since there was more, I thought, that could have been told. I'm hopeful, since this is a pretty new series, that we'll be seeing another book soon. I really want to see how the story ends.

[Scott Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the setting of this story and the amazing characters. The illustrations are amazing too. Perhaps it is unfair, but I think that I am giving this 3 stars instead of 4 because it has been a while since I read Canto I and I have forgotten many details of the story. For that reason the story felt a bit disconnected.
I recommend this series for my students!

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish Goodreads had half stars. I would rate this a 4.5. I wanted it to go longer. I am really enjoying the story of Canto. This second story building on the first. It deepens the world and characters. Adds depth. I enjoyed the story and the artwork. Well done.

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Canto now starts a journey to free his people of the Shrouded Man's curse - their time will end soon if they refuse to be back to slavery.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I thought the story would end in this volume, but no!
I was already in love, now I'm obsessed!

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canto starts the next part of his journey to save his family.

[Steve S · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork is great. The story isn't as strong, but it has a nice fairy tale feel to it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it much more on my reread

Not as good as the first one. Some scenes were very choppy and the story was not as compelling.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slight step down from the first volume and feels like it could be a bit shorter and tighter, but still a fun all-ages fantasy adventure.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | Canto and the Clockwork Fairies

Total review score: 3.292

[Gabriele D'Amato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi piace leggere quest'ambientazione. L'avventura, i personaggi primari e secondari, i cattivi di turno e le emozioni messe in gioco valgono la lettura.
Personalmente non apprezzo troppo i fondi di scenografia troppo blandi e sfuocati.
In generale mi aspettavo qualcosa in più da questo secondo volume, ma rimane comunque carino e piacevole da leggere.
C'è tanto nella storia che riprende vecchie fiabe e racconti (il mago di oz in più contesti).
Alcune scelte narrative non le condivido e alcuni balzi narratologici sono a mio avviso fuori luogo.
Spero in una ripresa di qualità vera nel terzo volume (sperando anche sia l'ultimo e non diventi una storia senza fine e senza senso).

[Khushi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this better than vol 1. The art alone should be reason enough to give it 5 stars. It is just gorgeous and I wanted to frame some of the pages for wall hangings. The plot and world building is beautiful. This is Fantasy at its peak!

[Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little underdog story that’s not trying anything too fancy but just tells a simple story well. Has a rocky start gives me the vibe that maybe they didn’t expect to get to the second volume but once they get going it’s solid.

[Jack Reickel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation. I know Canto jumped around some publishers and this volume seems a little more episodic than the first, and imo, hopefully than the rest. I liked it a lot, but I'm ready to like more of the main thrust of story moving forward.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a wonderful series so far. The art is truly amazing and I love all of the characters. In this volume, Canto and his friends go on a mission to defeat the shrouded man so they can get their clock hearts fixed. Will they be able to do it in time before they are extinguished?

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

MPA ratings: PG for violence

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is amazing! I loved every minute of this!

[Mee Too · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great. okay the story might be a bit sappy, its in good spirit i'm sure. AAaannd the art is so magical and all the characters are so enjoyable. Come now how can you not enjoy this.

[Deni Kid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice story development. Looking forward to reading more

[Deni Kid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story development. Easy Sunday afternoon read. Looking fwd reading the next one.

[S46354595 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Canto Review

In 2019, I joined this amino and started posting book reviews. I really wanted to get my thoughts about the books I read out there into the world, and there was no other way to do it besides take the plunge.

Around that same time, I also joined a thing called NetGalley, which allows people to request advanced reader copies of books coming out soon. I wasn’t really sure about my reading tastes yet, since I’d only read some of the big popular YA fantasy and school required stuff, so I requested a lot of things in a lot of different genres. (If you’re interested in learning more about NetGalley, I made a blog about it: LINK)

My very first request was for the first volume of a graphic novel called Canto, If I Only Had a Heart. I found myself engrossed in a really interesting fantasy world inspired by the Wizard of Oz, full of compelling characters and beautiful art. ORIGINAL REVIEW LINK

For four years, I’ve been telling myself that one day I’d return to Canto, and get updated on the series. This week was that week. Why? Because one of the prompts on this year’s r/Fantasy bingo is to read the oldest thing off of your TBR. I have some older books on my physical TBR, but this is the oldest that I have record of on B&WA.

I had to reread the first volume to remember what happened, but they’re only six chapters long, so it wasn’t too hard to breeze through all three volumes that are currently out. (Plus three little short stories)

The plot follows a little clockwork knight named Canto, who is enslaved to this villain, the Shrouded Man, along with all his people. They all had their hearts taken out and replaced by clocks in order to keep them from feeling anything. They’re not allowed to love, not allowed to have names, not allowed to do anything but chop wood for the furnaces.

Canto falls in love with a girl knight, and she gives him the name Canto, even though it’s forbidden. When the slavers find out she gave him a name, they hurt her, and her clock starts winding down. Canto then goes on a journey to find her missing heart in order to save her.

As the volumes go on, Canto starts gathering allies to rebel against the Shrouded Man, who has pretty much the entire world enslaved to him in some way. Some of the creatures in this world are a little strange or horrifying, but I loved them anyways. Canto proves that you don’t need a heart to hope or love, and convinces so many other people and creatures that they can fight back even when they’re scared.

This story is still ongoing, but I don’t think it will be long before it’s over. One or maybe two more volumes should wrap it up nicely. In addition to the main three volumes, there are three short stories as well. Each one takes place just after each volume, so here’s the best way to read them:

Volume 1 - If I Only Had a Heart
Canto and the Clockwork Fairies
Volume 2 - The Hollow Men
Canto and the City of Giants
Volume 3 - Lionhearted
Canto: Tales of the Unnamed World

It may seem unnecessary to read the short stories, but they are actually really important to the plot. The characters you meet in the short stories end up joining the main plot and helping Canto on his journey.

This world feels so big, even though it’s only shown to us in little pieces. We meet all sorts of cool fantasy races, some which have names, and others whose names and histories have been erased by the Shrouded Man. It was so cool to see Canto discover little tidbits of information about different creatures, and then be able to tell them about the history that they lost. I cried so much.

Canto’s personal journey of discovering courage was so inspiring to read. There were so many moments where he could have given up and admitted defeat, but he never did. He inspired others to have courage and hope, and in turn they helped him when he was struggling. Even people who had previously been his enemies turned around and helped him, because no one who met him walked away without having been changed in some way.

The Wizard of Oz references were subtle, but so well done. They writers paid so much love to the original tale, while also taking their story in a completely different direction. There is no Dorothy, no evil witch, but it still felt very Oz. I don’t know whether or not the authors were only referencing what was in the movie/musical, or whether they added in anything from the rest of the books, so if you’ve read more of the books as a kid, I’d love to know if they included anything from them. I’ve only ever seen the movie/musical.

I highly recommend this short graphic novel series. I’d almost forgotten how much I loved it until I decided to revisit it for that bingo prompt. Now that I’m up to date, I love it even more. Kudos to the writers for making the story so brilliantly beautiful and compelling. And kudos to the artists for the gorgeous art. Seriously, it’s so pretty.

Have a nice day/night everyone!