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Sas Milledge’s Mamo #1 from Boom! Box is an enthralling introduction to a bizarre world populated with fairies, witches and fantasy.
Since its inception in 2013, Boom! Box — an imprint of Boom! Studios — has published some of the most exciting all-ages comics in recent memory. While the imprint is best known for the Lumberjanes series, all of its titles are wonderfully unique and engaging. Boom! Box’s newest series, written and drawn by Sas Milledge (DC’s Last Carnival) is no exception. Mamo #1 marks the beginning of a beautifully drawn and wonderfully written new series.
Mamo #1 follows a young girl named Jo Manalo whose mother is very ill. Jo believes that her mother, along with her hometown of Haresden, has been cursed by the fae — a particularly dangerous breed of fairies. Jo rides her bike out to the edge of town to find the town’s witch and ask for her assistance. She then meets a witch named Orla, who reluctantly agrees to check on Jo’s mother, but insists that she isn’t the witch of Haresden. Orla’s grandmother was the witch in charge of watching over Jo’s town, but Orla says that she died, which seemingly explains some of the town’s strange events. When they get through the woods and into town, they are greeted by fairy traps, houses overgrown with trees and magical disarray.
In Mamo‘s debut issue, Milledge weaves her storytelling and worldbuilding skills together seamlessly. Each page reveals more about the characters and the world while moving the story forward and building a palpable sense of tension. In this way, the reader discovers just how dire the situation in Haresden is as Orla does. She and the audience step into the bizarre magic-torn town together, which makes the story’s withheld information even more tantalizing. Milledge’s deft pacing makes it easy to empathize with Orla, and her ear for dialogue makes it impossible not to root for young Jo — whose stubborn commitment to helping her mother and her neighbors underscores the urgency of the situation.
As charming as Milledge’s characters are, her landscape depictions steal the show. Jo and Orla hike through a forest of gnarled trees that loom above their heads like omens of bad things to come. Wonderfully rendered bugs and birds follow the protagonists throughout the comic, lurking in the background and adding a sense of depth to every page. Milledge’s work is dense without being crowded. The combination of finely detailed scenes and abundant amounts of negative space implies that there is more than meets the eye going on at all times.
The issue ends with a twist that’s sure to make things difficult for Jo and Orla but may answer some key questions about Orla’s past and Haresden’s future. Despite all the potential danger in Mamo #1, Sas Milledge has crafted a comic that joyfully welcomes readers to the series. Jo and Orla’s dynamic is set to develop in interesting ways as the two of them face whatever mysterious forces await them and it’ll be a joy to see more of the series’ magical world.
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