“Yesterday’s” Comic> The Stuff Of Legend volume 1

Just assume I made a Toy Story joke and move on.

The Stuff Of Legend volume 1

Th3rd World Studios (2009)

WRITERS: Mike Raicht & Brian Smith

ARTIST: Charles Paul Wilson III

DESIGN/COLOR: Jon Conkling & Michael DeVito

Brooklyn, 1944: A boy is taken by tentacles into the dark closet. The toys come to life and worry about what to do until the soldier calls for volunteers on a mission to rescue the boy from what the toys believe is the Boogeyman. Some stay to protect the younger brother (who was sleeping in his mother’s room at the time) or believe it’s too late anyway, while the soldier leads the teddy bear, a ballerina figure, an Indian princess (it was 1944), a piggy bank, a jack-in-the-box that appears to have a thing for the princess, a duck toy, and the boy’s real puppy into the closet.

What they got right: The sepia toned storybook style of the art lends itself beautifully to the story, giving a creepy atmosphere that won’t lead younger readers to immediately run to his or her own parents’ bedroom. The solider doesn’t shame anyone for not volunteering but does seek out the piggy back as someone who could benefit the mission, the ballerina having to talk the bank into it. “The colonel” already comes off as a good leader. The plot and our main characters are set up well.

What they got wrong: The lore notsomuch. I’m not sure why the Boogeyman took the kid or if the toys were supposed to protect him and his brother from the Boogeyman or if they’re being alive is a coincidence, like in the Toy Story franchise.

What I think overall: I wouldn’t mind seeing the rest of this series and learning how the story ends. It’s really well done and shows that comics can do many amazing things to tell its story.