It’s impossible to overestimate just how far Alxndra Cook’s visual storytelling has come since I was first covering her work in zines like Eat Your Fruit!, well over a decade ago. Her second place Manga Jiman competition entry Kiyomi’s Prequel was a pivotal point in that development and the comic for which I selected her as one for our Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ creators in 2021. Since then she has worked across genres – horror, fantasy, slice-of-life, sci-fi – constantly honing her craft, with her evocative use of colour and delicate linework really marking out her approach to the page.
Her latest book Sparrowsong from Koguchi Press, who have published her a number of times now, leans into the mythological and the folkloric. Its premise sees what appears, at first glance, to be a star crashing from the heavens into a forest. On closer inspection, though, the fallen object turns out to be one of the sparrowborn, a winged humanoid pursued by the malevolent Crow-witch. Taken into the home of the woodcutter who found him, the sparrowborn soon becomes part of an intimate relationship between that forest labourer, himself and his wife. But with the Crow-witch still hunting him the trio remain in great peril. And the question remains, what effect will this strange visitor ultimately have on the humans’ lives?
Sparrowsong sees Cook using a limited colour palette of purples, blues and pinks to highly atmospheric effect, imbuing every page with a mystical etherealness. It’s a very sensual story, one that touches on themes of sexuality, connection, relationships and the intricacies of desire. Not so much a case of obvious allegory but more a subtler and nuanced exploration of those themes through its fantasy trappings.
Published in a digest-sized format that does fit in with the Koguchi line’s manga aesthetic (no doubt making it much more affordable too!) it does still make the reader wonder just what Cook’s beautiful visuals would have looked like with more room to breathe. Her pacing in these pages is especially notable for adding so much to the emotional beats of the story, and the action sequences are her very best yet in portraying a sense of motion and movement. An excellent entry point to Cook’s gorgeous illustration for those yet to experience her work.
Alxndra Cook (W/A) • Koguchi Press, £16.00
Review by Andy Oliver
