To put it frankly, Black Stars Above is one of the most intimate comic books I have read in 2019.  The series is about a fur trapper (Eulalie Dubois) that leaves the burden that her family places upon her to find herself by wandering into the wilderness during a wintered cosmic hazard in 1887. Our protagonist Eulalie Dubois has left the confines of her family’s fur trapping business to deliver a parcel to an unknown town in the northern wilderness. Unbeknownst to her, there is a darkness enamored with what she holds.

Black Stars Above is everything I want to see in comics. It’s a decompressed, yet dynamic, meditative journey into a cosmic horror narrative and a genuine examination of the comic book medium. From the get-go, the creators are in harmony with setting the pace of the series for the reader. Lonnie Nadler’s voluptuous prose takes center stage. In addition, artist Jenna Cha has proven her immense talent for detail and line work, bringing history to life with a style reminiscent of 19th century artist in the works of Longstaff, Van Gogh, and Doré. Her panel layouts and composition display a profound sense of intimacy about a family living by necessity. With each character, they appear as though they were etched into wood. This is strengthened through the magnificent coloring by Brad Simpson, giving the sense of a letter aged through history. Finally, the lettering is an astonishing character of its own. Each character within the comic has their own unique style of lettering that provides a flair of personality.

As someone who has recently struggled with their own sense of independence, this story resonated with me very deeply.  Finding oneself is such a universal theme, and with Black Stars Above, the creative team creates a narrative that serves as our north star.

Creative Team: Lonnie Nadler (writer), Jenna Cha (artist), Brad Simpson (colorist), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (letterer)
Publisher: Vault Comics
Click here to purchase.