Broken Frontier

After I had reviewed “Return of the Exile” co-creator Barb Jacobs, I discovered she had a new comic book project – Xylia Tales – which I reviewed in its infant stages. Now I’ve come back to see Xylia Tales tell the full tale and provide quite a few more answers.

The hero of the comic is an average guy named Claude, who discovers his life is not so average, especially when he discovers his corgi Liv can talk, his imaginary friend Dr. Ambrosia is a spirit echo of his father, and he is sought by the otherworldly forces of Lord Diemos. Probably the biggest revelation, however, is that Claude is in fact Claudius, a tragic lover to the last faerie, Xylia, who has lived – and died – countless lifetimes trying to save to the enchanted Xylia.

The webcomic has been running for almost a year, and quite a lot has been explained in the most recent installments. “Severed” from his chain of random reincarnation, this is apparently Claude’s last chance to set everything right, and during a near-death experience, we see Claudius remember his past lifetimes over the ages. Fortunately, the character of Claudius does not replace Claude altogether, and the doubtful common man remains the anchor of the story instead of long-winded romantic alter ego. In fact, it’s Claude’s timeless reaction to meeting his family of faeries for the first time, among many other initial encounters of fantasy, which really make the story as a whole stand out.

The browsing on the webcomic is a bit cluttered, with the navigation reduced to two small arrows in the upper right hand corner of the strip. While isn’t really a big deal once you get moving through the strip, it just doesn’t feel as intuitive as other site layouts, especially with most navigation found either on the bottom or top center of many webcomics. Still, the rest of the site is top-notch, with an archive, gallery and cast page.

The webcomic has been quite consistent, with the last installment posted a couple days ago. And since the last webcomic introduces Lord Deimos in a crimson-colored scene, the quality is just as consistent. The only downside is the exposition does keep us from the characters, which are so much more vibrant than their own backstory.

Rated in the mid-20s of Top Webcomics, Xylia Tales is a worthy webcomic addition to any fantasy fan looking for classy faerie tale spin to check out week after week.