Finder Volume 1 Review:

Sometimes the inability to easily synopsize a work is a sign that it's not being clear. But that's not the case here. It feels like Carla Speed McNeil (CSM) is telling exactly the kind of story they want to tell.

Some general notes? It's set in a distant future, where much of history has been forgotten. There's high-tech computers, and there are itinerant traders riding enormous pseudo-dinosaurs, probably part of a kind of genetic manipulation experiment in the past. There are people with animal features; there are lion people. Very little of this is explained, it's simply presented as part of the world... you just accept it and move on.

The title: Finder is a role or group in this world, but we only learn about it obliquely. One of the main characters, Jaeger, is one, but he doesn't talk about it much.

I've heard that this is a work exploring indigineaity, though by setting this in an unexplained future, CSM avoids trying to take any particular tribe's stories inside this narrative, which is probably for the best.

This aspect of the book itself isn't delivered directly, but it is present. There is a kind of quiet wisdom of both the book and it's characters, and this feels drawn from the traditions CSM is connecting to.

CSM is a storyteller focused on the characters and lived-in nature of her world. As strange as it all is, the characters feel so naturally fit within it. The feeling is that the story happens to be observing the moments in the lives of these characters, instead of something deeply orchestrated as part of an overt plot.

Jaeger as a character is a great example. We follow him through much of this volume but I hesitate to call him a 'main character' so much as one we happen to be following... his reluctance to explain himself or his choices helps us lean deeper into the world because we want to know more about how everyone else interacts with him.

I will also note that Jaeger became something of a personal inspiration while reading this. Not fully, because the life he lives is too far beyond where I'm comfortable, but there is a calm and focus this character has, and a sense of living in a very present, mindful experience. As someone who often gets lost in overthinking and being distant, trying to channel a little of that element of his character really helped me.

I haven't even talked about the art... CSM's art is stunning. All rendered in black and white, it is by turns incredibly detailed (with lots of cameos and references buried in the backgrounds) and very simple. The characters are incredibly distinct yet with minimal linework. Part of the setting involves whole clans of people who look alike, and CSM's ability to both represent this WHILE making important characters be instantly recognizable is very impressive, and probably deceptively hard to do.

Much like my note about their skills as a storyteller, the art is such that it tries to avoid getting in the way of the narrative. It's a simple style, elegantly used to create a lot of expression, but never so expressive as to clumsily guide the emotions of the audience; always to help us get deeper into the story and world.

I think making a book like this takes a lot of work: thinking through all the characters, how they fit, the details of the world, etc. and then the artwork, representing all these details and qualities with a detailed craftsman's touch. It's the kind of work of a modelmaker, trying to get every detail perfect, so that it seems it could turn alive when you turn your back. The work is clear, but it doesn't feel overwrought or too much, like they're dragging you through every detail they've thought up. It's that every bit of that effort feels like someone who cares deeply for their world, and your passage through it.

A new favourite and a deeply loved reading experience. ( )

One of my new favorite comics. Finder is like a slightly less eccentric Love and Rockets set in a far-future world reminiscent of Halo Jones.

Wonderful characters and clever worldbuilding that leaves a lot to the imagination. And fabulous black and white art!

And yes, I have a crush the size of a planet on Jaeger, who is like Sirius Black's older and badder big brother. OH JAEGER. ( )

Well drawn with an interesting story. The story does not always make sense, sometimes because it is setting the stage for later but also cause it feels like the author goes for feelings rather than coherent plotting.

Just coast through the parts you don't get, enjoy the art and the parts you do get. ( )

Any volume of Finder is easier to read then it is to describe. Shaenon Garrity characterized the series in The Comics Journal, as being 'simultaneously straightforward and labyrinthine, genre-based and uncategorizable. It’s solid sci-fi of the kind they were making in the 1970s, Ursula Le Guin/Vonda McIntyre type stuff that’s all about anthropology and world-building and a little bit of the old feminism. McNeil calls it ‘aboriginal science fiction'.’’ But reading Finder is also more fun than reading about it. ( )

Picked up the "Finder" anthology based on the review by Glen Weldon and it definitely lived up to the expectation. Very imaginative writing, strong characters, and a unique world. The artwork is quite detailed and even though it is black-and-white, it seems to shine on the page. "Sin Eater", the longest of the stories, is just a bit too episodic and unfocused, but this is a very minor complaint because any content that doesn't directly contribute to the main plot line still manages to set a mood for the rest of the story. ( )