Saturday Splash Page #185

"Spare Parts," in The Secret Voice, by Zack Soto (writer/artist), Jason Fischer (color assists)

The Secret Voice centers on Dr. Issac Galapagos, a sorcerer/fighter of the Red College, a group of magic-wielders trying to help hold back the forces of Wux Heng. Wux Heng isn't simply a conqueror, as he reduces the places he takes to rubble, using up every resource they have. The Red College has had some success slowing his advance and forming alliances between various kingdoms, but they've by no means stopped him.

Wux Heng's forces also carry a poison on their weapons, one that reduces those afflicted to shuffling zombies. Soto draws their innards as having been replaced with something fungal-like. Issac was wounded in a battle but has thus far staved off this final undeath, though not without cost. He's losing focus, hallucinating, having difficulty distinguishing reality and fantasy (he's not supposed to be holding a severed hand right then.)

Still, his persistence in the face of the infection may have given him some greater insight into what the Red College is up against. Or, if the presence in his mind really did gain sentience because he's so stubbornly resisted succumbing, he's made things even worse.

Hard to say, since as far as I know, Soto hasn't released any more of this in this last half-dozen years. He set up a lot of backstory and intrigue, such as why Wux Heng is so destructive. Wouldn't it be more useful to keep the lands he conquers in a state where they can continue to produce? Soto draws Heng with a noticeable purple bullseye centered over his right ear, which feels significant to his claims that he's got certain foreknowledge of how things are going to go. But then, why does he need the help of a witch (though we don't actually see her help)? There's an immense wall holding back a collapse in reality in one corner of the world. No one seems to know why reality collapsed, or why there. Is it connected to the thing in Issac's mind, or Wux Heng? Don't know.

The Voices Inside Are Unkind

I don't know, looks more fibrous to me.

Volume 1 of Zack Soto's The Secret Voice starts with a great war already in progress. Wux Heng's forces are making their way across the continent, conquering and enslaving all in their path, depleting their holdings of all its resources. Dr. Issac Galapagos is trying to convince the Troll King to join the battle, but suffers a brief mental lapse and cuts the king's hand off. Whoops.

We eventually learn some of what's happened to Issac, but not necessarily how or why it's manifesting like it is. I have the impression most people in Issac's situation would already be dead or entirely lost mentally. Presumably some of why it's different for him will be revealed down the line.

That's the approach Soto takes frequently in this story. Wux Heng's ultimate goal isn't entirely laid out. He's conquering and enslaving with little regard for life, but why? What's the end goal? What's the witch he's working with getting out of it? We hear bits and pieces about past battles, but the story doesn't go in-depth. Which is fine. Mysteries are fun, and it allows Soto to maintain momentum by not stopping to do flashbacks or expository dialogue. Jump right in and get the reader's attention.

Soto's art style reminds me of Adventure Time. It's deceptive because it looks simplified sometimes, but that keeps the character designs from being cluttered or messy. It's easy to keep all the major players separate. But it's also capable of giving the sense of scale necessary to depict a besieged kingdom as an establishing shot. Or of drawing some bizarre horror.

When Issac confronts the thing lurking in his mind, Soto actually simplifies his style even further. The presence is a vague colored splotch that begins to form the outline of a body over the course of the discussion. Before it takes a full form, Soto switches from a perspective behind Issac's shoulder to viewing it from the other direction, with the presence dominating the panels and closing in on Issac's skull.

The color scheme is dominated by light purples and golds. Not just in Issac's design, but also most of the surroundings. The Red College's walls are often golden, as are some of the forests Issac travels through. The trolls' subterranean kingdom has a tint that is a mixture of both tones. It's an unusual combination, and creates an unearthly feel to the beginning of the book. That things are off, something is odd. It feels a little like looking at a picture meant to be viewed through 3-D glasses, except they aren't.