I met the artist, Kay Woolhiser, a couple of years ago at Rose City Comic Con, when Dragon Grit had just come out. It has become one of my favorite indie comics, so when I heard she was coming out with her own comic (as the writer and artist), I made sure to back the Kickstarter. It was a good decision.

In a fantasy world where violence is the norm, a teenage thief is caught trying to steal from a temple and is beaten to death by two guards for his trouble. But the Moon was watching. Descending from the sky in the form of an ethereal woman, she makes him an offer: become a pawn in her fight against the beasts on the other side of the city walls or die. He agrees and becomes a part of the Chessmen, a group of humans who transcend death. As the years pass, Pawn finds a home with Knight and Rook. But the Moon has a complementary opposite—the Sun. She has her own Chessmen, and though the Sun and Moon appear to have humanity’s welfare at heart, they clearly have different agendas and motivations.

The story gets right to the point without any fluff and keeps the exposition to a minimum, which I like. And it’s also very clear on consent. Pawn makes his own decisions and has his own agency—up to a point. He is, after all, a pawn. The characters are developed well in such a short space of time. The art and coloring work well and are easy on the eyes. My favorite scene is when Pawn and Knight enter the Moon’s realm at the lake. Very cool.

Though many folktales have talked about the conflict between the Moon and the Sun, this one takes an interesting turn by changing dying humans into figurative chess pieces for these godlike beings. I will say Chessmen hits all the right beats on conflict, loyalty, and betrayal. I look forward to the next issue.

Creative Team: Kay Woolhiser (writer/artist), Caleb Palmquist (editor/creative consultant)
Publisher: Kay Woolhiser and Caleb Palmquist
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