CANTO #4: Courage, a Muscle to Exercise

Fear is just a call to exercise courage. Without fear, we can’t have courage. We cannot act courageous in any situation unless we have something to protect, something to honor, something to prove, or something to commit to. Fear is a call to action and that action should be courageous. Canto must face his fears, take action, and learn from the wisdom of the teachings.

Canto #4 begins with reality turning to fantasy, which is one major aspect that makes this series so good. References of The Wizard of Oz, Canto continues his journey and he must enter the city of Dis, but there are giants guarding the entrance. The guards are amused by this courageous tiny tin-man, but feels that Canto’s lack of wisdom does not merit permission to enter. Fortunately, these two giants squabble like children, which make it easy for a mystery woman to slip pass and enter the city along with Canto and his pet.

The mystery woman confides little scraps of common factors that connect her with Canto, but time will tell when his questions are answered. The mystery woman guides Canto and his Malorex to the Emerald Tower to confront the creature, The Shrouded Man, who has enslaved all people of this world. There are some special parts of this journey that shows purpose, not just for the story itself, but for the reader as well. Purpose, is not always known right away and sometimes we are confronted by evil in our journeys. As the mystery woman enters a building, she request Canto to wait outside and speak to no one. Of course, evil soulless witches approach Canto and taunt his purpose with self-doubt.

The mystery woman intervenes and fights off these Furies, manifestations of the Shrouded Man’s hate and fear. Canto quickly overcomes the evil’s attempt to destroy him. This experience has confirmed Canto’s intuition that this mystery woman is a friend with common interest. And, she has learned a way into the Emerald Tower…

David Booher has created a fantasy realm of believable characters woven with realism and fiction that the reader can relate to. Booher’s styles of writing consistently express the “why” comic books are important. Each issue, Booher sparks the readers imagination as Canto continues his journey, not just the plot, but lessons to learn through sociological achievement. Canto #4, teaches the power of fear and courage. There is a healthy level of fear, but don’t let fear cause inaction. That would be cowardly. It is foolish when ignores what should be feared; in other words, it is courageous to go against what others may consider hard to overcome, if you can in truth “have wisdom” overcome it, but it’s foolish if your gesture is not coherent with reality. “Courage lacking in wisdom may make you foolish. Yet, wisdom without courage is fear”. We must face our fears and call the act of courage to overcome it. Courage is a habit, a muscle we can exercise!

Drew Zucker, Vittorio Astone and Deron Bennett continue to show that they are a perfect fit for Booher’s Canto storyline. This team captured the essence of the city of Dis with its people of slavery. The mystery woman is well-done with an awesome medieval inspired look. The artwork and coloring is absolutely eye catching, especially the dark and creepy Furies! It takes talent like Booher, Zucker, and Astone to give reason for readers to want more!