Chatting About Elvatron with Andy Bohn

Alrighty, now it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been at the Phoenix con, so it’s time I start putting up some videos.  So here’s the first one with Andy Bohn.   Andy is one of the nicest guys I’ve had the privilege to talk to.  So while you are reading that, I figure I also do a nice short review of his series Elvatron Chronicles in concordance with the video now on youtube.  (Go watch it, it’s awesome.)

I’ll be waiting for you.  I swear.

Go watch it.

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There are a couple of cool interviews up there you should see as well if you haven’t already.   Watch them too.

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Welcome back.  Now look at the cover beside me.  Cool huh?

Elvatron Chronicles is Andy Bohn’s first comic series.   The story begins in issue number zero where Captain Dalen, the father of Elvatron, hears rumors of mysterious dark armor and of a possible orb barrier.  Orbs are powerful magical items that can only be manipulated by certain users.  Dalen goes to investigate.  Unknown to him, one of the kingdom’s advisors, Aryn informs the mysterious users of Dalen’s arrival.

Dalen and company find themselves in a no win situation going against Raine and her dark armored warriors.  The issue ends as expected.  Elvatron for his part, only appears here briefly.  This is a solid prologue to the main story – and does exactly what a zero issue should do, intice readers to try the first issue.

Issue one starts with Elvatron and his older cousin Ossus, who no matter how hard he tries cannot beat Elvatron in a fair fight.   The kingdom is invaded by Raine’s soldiers.  Elvatron goes out to defend against the dark armor while Ossus goes and protects the king.   Elvatron manages to hold up his end of the bargain – Ossus, still bitter about losing to Elvatron again, succumbs to the temptation of power offered by Raine, and usurps the throne and becomes the king.  He finally beats Elvatron in a fight, using the power of the orb.

Issue two is my favorite.  This part is almost told completely from the villains point of view and it’s apparent here that Andy really enjoyed creating this issue.  Speaking from experience, villains are fun to write.   There is a freedom when you write them – since they have no morality you can do all the fun things with them you can’t do with heroes.  Raine takes center stage here, as she manipulates, seduces, kills and establishes her power base all in this issue.  She is a solid villain and the perfect challenge for Elvatron, who is unconscious at the time.  This issue also introduces Animus, who seems to be able to manipulate an orb herself.

All in all, this is a fun start to the series.  It’s amazing to watch a creator grow and develop their own voice and style, and it’s nice to see Andy doing it bit by bit.  The art gets better by the page, and his voice in storytelling is getting more and more defined and polished as each issue progresses.  This book has a feeling of high adventure and fans of dungeons and dragons and fantasy in general will love this series.  I for one can’t wait until issue number three.   I’m curious to see where it’s all going.