The Gloriously Untrue Adventures of Sapphira by Sapphira Olsen - Surreal Art Meets Space Kitten Chaos
How about some ethereal surrealist storytelling with sci-fi starring the most dangerous fiend of space, Felicette the cat? Sounds cool. Weird, right? Well, it gets even better as it's set in the mind of an archetypal goddess. It's beautifully bonkers with art to match. Welcome to The Gloriously Untrue Adventures of Sapphira by Sapphira Olsen.
Sapphira Olsen is an author, artist and poet. Sapphira has written several sci-fi novels, the latest of which, "The Woman In The Ship", will be published this month by Lethe Press. The Gloriously Untrue Adventures of Sapphira is Sapphira's debut comic set to launch at this year's most awesome of comic conventions, Thought Bubble. There's also a Kickstarter currently running for it. With the target well and truly smashed with plenty of time left, backers are guaranteed rewards, making this one an even more tantalising prospect. More on that at the end, for now, it's review time.
So, let's start with the art. Sapphira Olsen showcases a couple of extremely cool styles in this book. Whether a surrealist ethereal dream colours on realism with 90's pop art style for the narrative or the equally awesome black and white punk rock anime dressed in classic European sci-fi of the "space kitten" story. What's apparent throughout the art is Sapphira's boldly individualistic style that is chock full of appealing flair. It's a distinct style that shows great individuality while also expressing a deep love for comics and the sci-fi genre. Something that echoes throughout every facet, nook and cranny of this comic.
Sapphira is flying the geek flag like a pro, the way often best managed with those who have long-standing deep loves for this method of storytelling. Sapphira utilises strong, bold, clean lines to maximum effect. An impactful style that is further electrifying for the eyeballs, thanks to inventive colour choices. Its bold and vibrant presentation has this really charming quality to create overall captivating art. Devoid of colour, the black and white section is no less impactful. Here, the finer details shine, whether the recognisable nods to sci-fi tech and pop culture references abound again, Sapphira squeezes in so much awesome love in every panel without ever making it too busy. Really impressive stuff. Dreamy, serene-scape art with a sci-fi high kick flawlessly presented with deep beauty. Story time.
The Gloriously Untrue Adventures Of Sapphira is a strange but beautifully enchanting tale with a cool as the temperature of space sci-fi interlude of deadly space kitten moon murder mystery. I'm sure someone said, "In life, we are the narrators of our own story", or something more eloquent and poetic, but the significance is that here Sapphira builds a story around this central truth. Sapphira, as a character, presents as the archetypal goddess and narrator with the added intrigue of some knowledge she may have let slip. But before we get into that we'll be distracted with a "eulogy" of sorts. Perhaps some commentary on thoughts and imagination. Perhaps an extension of the events that will lead back to this shared knowledge. What's certain is we get some awesome sci-fi sensibility and a particularly lethal and deadly, now dead cat. However, that's maybe at best, perhaps.
The ambiguity and potential for metaphor are saturated in dreamscape presentation, with a huge dose of fourth-wall meta-analysis of sorts. All in all, this is a really fun read presented with interesting ideas and beautiful art. There's scope for an excellent series with limitless potential to explore every nook and cranny of comic book presentation and genre exploration. Cracking stuff.
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For fans of comics, pop culture, sci-fi, cats, moon-based murder mystery with feline-induced self-destruction before a selfie and swift exit, Columbo cameos, Audrey Hepburn, breaking the fourth wall and beautiful art with a bold, vivid colour palette step into the mind of Sapphira Olsen with The Gloriously Untrue Adventures of Sapphira.
To get your copy, you should back the Kickstarter here while there is still time. As mentioned before, it is already fully funded, so you are guaranteed a copy, which is excellent news. Those attending Thought Bubble convention this year at Harrogate Convention Centre on the 15th and 16th November (more info here) will also be able to grab their copy there as it makes its debut. Awesome stuff.
Review: 4.9/5
