'Weirdworld: Where Lost Things Go' – Humphries, Del Mundo (Marvel)

Next to my bed is this massive pile of comic books that I've been meaning to read for a long time but, as will be no surprise to you, I somehow haven't managed to get round to. You know how it is etc etc... ;o)

This year then, I decided to make a conscious effort to finally pick up some of those books and get stuck in. This makes it even funnier then (to me, anyway) that I'm starting off proceedings with a book that never even got to sit on that pile, not once. I enjoyed reading 'Weirdworld' back in November and hearing that there was a sequel, grabbed a copy off Amazon. And that's when the postal strike kicked in... By the time it arrived, the other day, I'd pretty much forgotten that I'd ordered it but didn't hang around too long before (finally) cracking it open and getting stuck in...

Becca has found herself on Weirdworld and has only one mission, get home alive. But will her new gig as apprentice to Goleta the Wizardslayer aid that quest, or render it even more unlikely? In a land of myths, monsters and... muscle cars?... Becca and Goleta will brave the Enchanted Village and Fang Mountains, seek aid from a catbeast and the Dog-Fighters, and find themselves in the middle of a war between Lava Men and Man-Things. But most dangerous of all is Morgan Le Fay – Becca had better hope that she never falls into the sorceress' evil clutches! Oops, too late...

I wasn't sure what to expect after 'Weirdworld' which, good though it was, seemed to have had the last word on lost things and where they go. So I'll be honest, I approached 'Where Lost Things Go' with a little trepidaton, would I be looking at the same story all over again or would it have something new to say...? Well, it was halfway towards having something new to say, if you count that as having the same story but with different characters... Sam Humphries made it work, that's the the main thing, I'll take that ;o)

Becca goes through the same trials as Arkon did but is a completely different character (of course) which sends the plot off in interesting new directions. Becca isn't as immediately engaging as Arkon was (although that says more about me than it does her) but if you give her a chance, her adventure takes on new meaning as you find out more about her. The end result is a quest that took me a while to get into but once I was there, I was there until the end. Becca isn't well suited to Weirdworld (I don't think anyone is to be fair...) but if it will help her do what she needs to get done, she will do whatever it takes. I love that attitude, it makes it really easy to cheer Becca on.

We're not just about the quest here though. When you're lost, friendship is the one thing that grounds you and all of a sudden, you're not lost if you're with people who love you. There's a lot of that going on in Weirdworld and sometimes it's not the good thing that our heroes (and villains) need. Finding out which is which is another thing that helps keep the book ticking over, it's not a huge deal to the plot but it's a definitely a 'nice to have' in the background.

The main character in this piece though is Weirdworld itself with all the strange and peculiar things that it has to offer. I was really glad to see Mike Del Mundo back on artwork duties for this sequel. His characters can get a little lost in all the weirdness but I'm guessing that's kind of the point in a world that is crammed full of cast-offs and lost things, most of which seem to want to kill each other. It's a rich world and Del Mundo really captures that, both in what we find and the inherent weirdnes of it all. There are pages here that I could just sit and stare at, and that's always a good thing.

'Where Lost Things Go' is a bit of a slow burner but stick with it and you'll be rewarded with stunning visuals and a plot that may take it's time but is all the better for it. Can't ask for a lot more than that really.