Love, Jeremy - Bayou, vol. 01

It's 1933 in Charon, Mississippi, and young Lee Wagstaff lives with her father on a small plot of land. She knows the bayou is dangerous, but she'll soon find that out first hand.

This comprises the first four chapters of the free online comic. It's a slight volume that's mostly set up for the rest of the story, and the titular character isn't even introduced until near the end. Still, you get enough to appreciate the gorgeous art (colors by Patrick Morgan), and there's already enough story to pique my interest.

Lee is an awesome protagonist. She's smart and brave but still thoroughly a little girl, and Love seems to be very good so far at sketching out characters, from Lee's playmate Lily, whom I want to slap, to her uncle and aunt and, of course, her father and Bayou. I also love the fantasy elements in the story, particularly the savage Jim Crows, and I'm looking forward to seeing even more of that as Lee and Bayou journey deeper into the bayou.

The art is lovely. In some of the panels, you can see Love's sketched guidelines or bits of pencil that haven't been edited out; it might feel unfinished for some people, but I enjoyed having those rough bits. The colors are gorgeous. I'm also glad that Love doesn't try to fit too much in a page. I'm so used to manga now, and when I read non-manga comics, I frequently end up feeling as though the art is too crowded, with too many panels and too many speech bubbles and too many words everywhere. Love gives the art room to breathe.

I'm still trying to decide if I should read ahead online: I love having the physical version and I already spend too much time on the computer as is (oh my eyes), but I want to know what happens!

So far, a great beginning and highly recommended.