Canto and the Clockwork Fairies #01: No One Was Born To Be Enslaved

Canto isn’t a book I would have normally read. I tend to stick with the Big Two publishers. I tend to like quick easy reads. Maybe I am shallow in my reading preferences? I am unsure how I picked up Canto. However with that being said it was one of my better reading choices.

Canto is a human story of survival and finding yourself, standing up for others, and finding the hero within. Sometimes, in life, no one is going to be your hero for you; you need to be a hero for yourself. I think every single person can relate. Canto’s people didn’t even have names. We see in this one-shot that Falco is having a hard time having a name. Which for people who have been abused or oppressed and you now have something that most would consider normal, a victim can have a hard time dealing with having normalcy. You can wonder if you are worth it. I am not sure if that was David’s intent but it came across to readers beautifully. The story can also speak to people with disabilities, as Canto and his people had their hearts replaced, the fairies had their wings replaced. It can be a telling story of how disabilities can be overcome.

David does an outstanding job of telling a one-shot story in 22 plus pages setting up Canto II. It completes the story but brings interest to the next series of the book. The art fits the story fabulously. Drew and Vittorio did a great job at showing facial expressions even with 90 percent of their face covered. The creative team working on this mesh well together in terms of creative, you can see it in the book.

This may have not be a review as much as I just want to gush about the book. I would recommend reading the first series before reading the one-shot. You can enjoy without reading it, but some of the lines may not have as much impact as it would if reading the first mini-series.

Canto is a beautifully written masterpiece (never used those words before in a review) that can speak to everyone. Even in a world of chaos Canto shows us not to lose our hearts. Be kind, do right.