The Nightingale And The Rose, Reviewed. A lovely comic experience.

How about a soft pastel anime fairytale styled story of love in a college of magic adaption of an Oscar Wilde short story? Well, Jem Milton presents a lovely comic experience.

With the Quindrie Press Kickstarter growing closer every day we have a look at another of the exciting titles that will be part of this launch. Jem Milton's The Nightingale And The Rose, an adaption of the Oscar Wilde short story provides a charming story of love, romantically delivered, that is a bit more for all ages and certainly less cynical than its original.

So, let’s start with the art. Jem Milton delivers a style of anime, fairytale fantasy. They have a style that has a really comforting feeling that is wonderfully suited to its substance, indeed the very first page took me to a Studio Ghibli sponsored RHS flower garden, are there are really beautiful pages and panels that follow. Those centred around the Nightingales final song in particular being shining moments for the art on offer. My personal favourite being the full page devoted to the pink stage of the rose development and the depiction of passion and its central image of the inverted lovers - so very impactful.

Jem's plant and animal studies add something extra, he delivers a more naturalistic style to these and still breathes personality to those characters, which for me really emphasises the fairytale air this comic emits. Jem handles the human characters with just as much artistry. The lamenting lover and their love interest in the daughter carry a very interesting style. Theirs is one of a ragtag, less fanciful costume with a distinctive yellow scarf which I really enjoyed especially in contrast to the daughter and her fairytale period type style. The pair just embodied a college of magic aesthetics. Jem Milton's colour palette is one of homeliness hitting all the notes you’d expect throughout with flashes of brilliance in things like the yellow scarf and every panel and page of the Nightingales final song.

Ok so secret time, I’ve never read any Oscar Wilde. Furthermore, if it wasn’t for Jem Milton I probably never would. It’s just not something I’d be actively looking for and can’t imagine would organically cross my path. Thanks to Jem though my first taste came in this comic. So on first read, I was treated to a really enjoyable romantic love story of happily ever afters through an appreciation of love. For the sake of the review and my own ignorance I searched it up to get a better sense of what this adaption was offering, so from my newly acquired standpoint, here's how I saw it. Jem Milton's adaptation uses a lovely dollop of magic fantasy to set up a pivot in the plot which tweaks a few themes and turns this story into a more love idealist tale. This story is something just much more wholesome, for a story featuring bird sacrifice than its source. To me, it makes sense that the beauty of this portrayed sacrifice works as a great catalyst for a sweeter conclusion than observations on lack of logic and materialism in some love. The magical plot point allows the first deviation but it’s the emphasis on the context of the love, one not marred by those materialistic themes but instead much more romantic led and more human love story where sacrifices are made in the pursuit of love and for love's sake. It’s a much more beautiful interpretation with the love being explored more about the sacrifices we can make for love and the rewards that that can bring especially when done without sacrificing yourself as an individual. The sort of love that can last a lifetime if founded with love for oneself. The clever inclusion of the academic pursuit being the catalyst and something sacrificed for love, the polar opposite of the original ending felt like a deliberate extra cherry nod to Oscar Wilde's story.

Although Jems' lens of love portrayed here is more romantic it is in no way fantastical. It is still a “real world” type of love, a little messy, a little honest, and finished with an important message. That there are different types of love we can experience, that can manifest in ways other than imagined idealisms of lust-filled roller coasters, that they can be much more honest and true to oneself while stressing the importance of love for oneself.

For fans of love first, comic fans of all ages, bird sacrifice at discretion, for everyone that enjoys wholesome romance, here is another great reason to get yourself signed up and ready for that Quindrie Press Kickstarter. Just like The Beechwood Helm, the review of which you can find here, The Nightingale and The Rose is showing just how exciting the Quindrie Press catalogue will be even in its first steps. Another great title for the incredibly talented Jem Milton's back catalogue. Scotland's indie creators on this platform are announcing themselves in a great way and there's still more to get excited about.

Review: 4/5