Underwinter: Symphony

LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED) -- Mousy Eleanor, cautious Corben, hedonistic Kendell, and bratty Stephanie are a top-flight string quartet contracted by the enigmatic Meister Maranatha to perform at an isolated mansion with very specific instructions. They are to be dressed by staff in specific outfits, blindfolded, and must play their set perfectly from memory, terms of which they all agree to since the offered payment is substantial. The performance goes without a hitch, except that Corben's curiosity gets the better of him, and as he peeks out from under the blindfold, he sees their sole audience is a nude half-human, half-bird being. While the band continues to give regular concerts in the venue, each musician becomes transformed in personality or body, with Corben facing the worst ordeals because he saw the thing in the audience. As our protagonists are drawn further and further into their own phantasmagoric magical mystery tour, it becomes increasingly apparent that they are fighting for their lives against an incomprehensible force whose desires are as opaque as night.
Verdict Eisner nominee Fawkes's (Intersect; Gotham by Midnight) latest work is an overture of mythological imaginings, delicately rendered in impressionistic watercolor that perfectly matches the esoteric tale of performance and magic. Highly recommended.-Douglas Rednour, Georgia State Univ. Libs., Atlanta