"Ether: The Disappearance of Violet Bell" by Matt Kindt and David Rubin (illustrator)

First, my one-sentence description of the work: “Samurai Jack meets Sherlock Holmes in fairyland.”

A word from the publisher: “The Faerie King’s daughter is missing and only portal jumper Boone Dias can track her down. Jumping from one magical crime scene to another he uncovers a bizarre plot featuring assassin eggs, weird pirates, ice deserts, and more noir absurdities.“

What Worked For Me:

The setting and characters are certainly fantastical. This work shines in its visual variety and flights of fancy.
The fanciful nature of the work means the art style has plenty of room to play with various artistic styles; as such, it absolutely stands out from many of its contemporaries. If I had to describe the work’s “vibes,” I’d call them, “neo-noir police procedural on acid.”
The juxtaposition of a magical world and a scientist protagonist is an interesting one; it’s not a combination I see often. Full Metal Alchemist and Dr. Stone both come to mind, but neither has a setting as bizarre as Ether’s.
The trade version of the work includes author and artist’s commentary, including extra sketches. I always love inclusions like this, both to learn more about the world of the work as well as the creators’ creative process.

What Didn’t:

Apparently, this is actually the third trade in the Ether series. Though the Goodreads description makes this clear, the work itself certainly does not. This, in turn, meant that I spent a lot of the work wondering if I was missing something, even if I was able to parse out a lot thanks to context clues.
The story moved at such a fast clip I often found myself struggling to connect with the characters or settings on display. It almost felt like the work was more a vehicle of the fantastical rather than its characters. (Then again, perhaps I would’ve been more invested if I had read the previous two trades first? It’s hard to say.)
The ending was fine, but the pace of the story meant it didn’t hit particularly hard (for me).

Conclusion:

While I wish I had read the work in order, I still had enough fun to make it to the end of Ether. With that said, I’m not sure I liked the work enough to go back and read trades 1 and 2. I think it’ll depend mostly on whether my local library has either available for rent; I don’t see myself buying copies of the work to continue the experience. With all of that being said, if you want a comic that’s bursting at the seams with “far out” characters and settings, this one is worth a look.

Check it out here.