The Amazon #3

Written by Steven T. Seagle
Art by Tim Sale

I'm grateful that Dark Horse decided to reprint this series. I've enjoyed reading it quite a bit, and it has made me realize a couple of things:

1. It's shocking how little things have changed in twenty years with respect to the deforestation of the Amazon, and the problems that the encroachment of civilization has caused for indigenous people there. This book is no less topical today than it was twenty years ago.

2. We need more 'mainstream' comics that are experimental and original, like this book is. Seagle plays around a lot with different methods of storytelling, and tries something I haven't seen imitated much since, with the three different levels of narrative: the action in the panel, the writer's journal, and the writer's finished article all telling the story from three different perspectives simultaneously. It's a great technique. At the same time, Sale is pushing the envelope some with his intriguing panel designs.

This is a beautiful comic, and it tells a great story. I can see how it helped bring both creator to prominence, and while I still like the work Seagle is producing, this book helps remind us of the great things that Tim Sale can do when he's not chained to Jeph Loeb.