Cryptic World

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Reviews   for   Quicken   Forbidden

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Series You May Have Missed Week

With the sheer number of comics in today's market, it's very easy to for both new and ongoing series to get lost in the shuffle. Unfortunately, if good series get neglected too long, the chance of it still being a series can become rather slim. This week, we're spotlighting five different series that you may have missed—and should definitely take a closer look at.

If Jax Epoch had listened to Alice, she'd have known not to chase after white rabbits. Now that she's gone to another reality and back, it seems that taking items from the other reality wasn't such a good idea. Not only is the fantastical leaking into her world, but there's also a strange force known only as the Quicken which seems to be burrowing through the dimensions, and is prophesized to destroy all reality. Definitely a bad idea, chasing after rabbits.

While there are a lot of fantasy comics on the market, there are only a handful that are really inventive and original, avoiding the stereotypical and coming up with something clever. Quicken Forbidden is very much one of these books. Dave Roman's story doesn't take the easy way out; why have a normal courtroom scene when you can instead plunge Jax into a non-linear-time dimension to have the trial? Roman's stories are inventive and pull the reader in very quickly; the tribal structures he created are interesting, and the inter-dimensional passageway of the Realmsend manages to still feel unique by Roman's use of it in Quicken Forbidden. Jax's leaps of logic are incredibly consistent for a teenager, keeping her well-realized and interesting as a character. After reading just one issue I was totally hooked on Quicken Forbidden; Roman is able to pull you in that quickly.

John Green's art, thankfully, is more than able to live up to Roman's ideas. He's able to bring the fantastic to life on the page, be it Jax's nightmares of the Quicken unlocking her body with a key, to the dizzying pathways of the Realmsend. At the same time, though, he's able to handle the mundane; Jax looks like a teenager, for instance, and his drawings of New York have a touch of realism that so many other comics fail at. Best of all, though, is that Green is able to merge the two ends of the spectrum perfectly. When a knight breaks through a frozen pond's surface and crashes onto the land, it's all the creepier because these larger-than-life creatures are suddenly in our world. It's a great way to hammer home the strangeness of Jax's situation and just how dangerous it can be.

New issues are only once or twice a year, but Quicken Forbidden is well worth the wait. With the rise of such other wonderful series like Finder, I can't help but hope that cleverly-written books like Quicken Forbidden benefit as well. There are currently ten issues of Quicken Forbidden available; the first five are collected into a trade paperback as well. You can find more ordering information from the Cryptic Press website.

Reviews by Greg McElhatton Visit Greg McElhatton's web site: http://www.gregmce.com

Long Island Voice (STRIPPED) April 16-22, 1988 by Beth Hannan Rimmels www.livoice.com

Dave Roman and John Green's QUICKEN FORBIDDEN (Cryptic Press $2.95), a terrific small press work from their North Babylon company, has a great buzz going in the industry. They've done a great job of getting the word out- any comics creator who reccomends other titles has heard from Green and Roman. That makes giving a plug all the easier, because the book IS very good. Jax Epoch is a 16--year-old girl with the normal teen's less than perfect life: She's a bookworm who daydreams too much...

http://www.sequentialtart.com/rtod_1101.shtml

Quicken Forbidden

Part of our mission at Sequential Tart is to highlight to our readers comics that have impressed us and that we believe are deserving of a wider audience. Our opinions often vary in proportion to the diversity of our tastes, but just occasionally we find a comic that is so outstanding that we can all agree on its merit. This month we focus on Quicken Forbidden. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Cryptic Press Creators: Dave Roman (writer) and John Green (artist) Current Issue: #10 (Trade Paperback of #1-#5 available) Price: Single Issues: $2.95. Trade Paperback: $14.95 What It's About: Jax Epoch fantasized about magic places and power. She wished to explore places of dream and legend. Her wish became a reality when she entered the Realmsend — a magical place between here and there where time flows differently and all seems to exist simultaneously. However, once she arrived, Jax discovered that this place wasn't anything like the fantasy, because her "wonderland" didn't have anything wonderous at all. So she borrowed some items and returned to her familiar earth. However, she discovered that the magic and wonder she sought there was invading our reality — and destroying it.

Now the Realm wants Jax to pay for unleashing The Quicken, a secret agency is after Jax because of the magic items she "borrowed", and her life is in shambles. Poor Jax, all she wanted was a little excitement — be careful what you wish for!

Dani Fletcher (Atsukamashii Onna Editor)

My adventure with Quicken Forbidden began at San Diego Comic Con, when I was told on no uncertain terms that I had to read it. Fortunately, I did. At a young age there was a particular type of character that I loved reading about, and that has followed me forward to today.

Jax fulfills the requirements and then some. She's bookish and clever, adventurous and pragmatic, and always in trouble. The kleptomania is just a bonus. Oh, and she can usually figure a way out on her own. More or less. Which is good, because she finds herself in some pretty strange places.

What seems to be a frenetic pace at first turns into a rollercoaster of mingled times and places. It's an excellent use of multiple universes, all converging on Jax in order to make her life miserable — er, exciting. And it has bunnies. And dragons. And robots. Honestly, my only problem with it is that I want more, having run through all that I bought, hmm, before I left San Diego, as it happens. This is one of the books that makes me wish I'd found independents earlier.

Jen Contino (Interviews Editor)

Imagine you're an ordinary girl living a dull existence and dreaming of magic and amazement and then suddenly you have your chance to enter a Wonderland, a place of fantasy and lore. But you get there and don't find magic or mirth or amazement — in fact, you don't find much of anything, except for a few odd trinkets. So, you "borrow" them and return to this world only to discover, much to your horror, that all the stuff you expected to find in that Wonderland is now running rampant on Earth. Worse, this stuff was never EVER supposed to be in our world, so it's causing chaos, havoc, and, perhaps, the destruction of life as we know it. And all YOU wanted was to have a little fun. Sucks to be you, especially if your name's Jax Epoch and you've just caused the beginning of the Quicken. How do you solve it? How can you make things better when everyone from the Realmsend is out to get you because you borrowed the trinkets and everyone from our world is out to get you because you know about magic? What can Jax do? Who can she trust? What's going to happen to her next?

I don't know!

What I do know is that issue after issue David Roman and John Green, Quicken Forbidden's creators, continue to shock, amaze, and delight me with such poignant and thought-provoking stories. I can't even attempt to guess what happens next, because it's already happened. In QF, time doesn't matter because all time is occurring simultaneously and the only thing you can be sure about is this instant — and even that is a little iffy. Jax Epoch doesn't want to be a hero. She doesn't want to use her powers for the greater good of mankind. She doesn't want to battle dragons atop skyscrapers or chase white rabbits around apartments. She doesn't want any of this, but it's her life now and she can't believe it. Having magic hasn't made her the most popular, it hasn't got her friends, it hasn't done much of anything for her — really, except cost her lots and lots.

This comic is different from the typical pattern of person gets powers, person becomes hero, person gets adoration of millions, and person lives happily ever after. Who knows what will happen to Jax? I just know that I can't wait to see what happens next. Roman and Green produce masterpiece after masterpiece with each new issue. If you're looking for something a little different — something unique — then you have got to try Quicken Forbidden. It's fantastic and magical and easily one of the absolute best comics around. Check out their website for more details on the series and ordering information.

Rebecca Salek (Staff Writer)

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Elseworlds. I love fantasy and sci-fi, in part, because they provide an alternate view of reality, a what if... situation. My favorite issues of Planetary and The Authority (Wildstorm) feature shiftships and adventures in alternate timelines.

When I heard about Quicken Forbidden, then, I couldn't wait to lay my hands on an issue. Lucky me. The guys at Cryptic Press sent me the first trade and the three issues that followed. :)

Jax Epoch is a great character. A bookworm, like me. Something of a tomboy, like me. She is also a kleptomaniac, an unusual characteristic in a hero — and one which causes her no end of trouble. When she's not bouncing between dimensions, she's running for her life from a giant fanged worm or being held captive by a secret government agency or battling her evil twin or standing trial for the destruction of all realities.

Oops.

Poor Jax. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble she gets herself into next. :)

Katherine Keller (Staff Writer)

I first heard about Quicken Forbidden due to Jen's shameless pimping. ;)

When a copy of it showed up in the ST mailbox, I sat down and read it.

Despite the fact that it was several issues in, the writer and artist managed to convey what had happened without resorting to reams of exposition. Nor was the story simple and formulaic — it was a witty science fantasy adventure involving time travel, vast conspiracy, and our intrepid heroine, Jax Epoch, being tried for destroying reality! And all of that fit coherently in one issue!

I had to get more. I bought the first trade in San Diego.

What do I love about the book? The intelligence of the writing, the delightful art, and the plucky (but flawed) heroine, Jax Epoch. Jax is impulsive, but not naive or stupid. Her wacked out adventures remind me a bit of Alice in Wonderland, only Jax is more self-reliant and tough than Alice.

Quicken Forbidden is the book that Meridian wants to be.

It's the book Leave It To Chance never got the chance to be.

It's one of those books that shows just how damn cool comics can be.

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