Review: ‘Sprout’ Takes A Bizarre Trip

Sprout is the independent debut comic of writer/illustrator Craig Sinclair. As such it has some flaws that debut comics can sometimes have. Yet, there are not as many as one might expect. The main one is that the front cover is deceptive. Yes, the back cover has a type of content warning, but a lot of potential buyers may not pay attention to that. There is also the factor that the story’s universe could be better set-up. This is especially true due to how it shifts between the two leads’ perspectives.

The story also feels a bit simplistic when one considers it solely from either of the lead characters’ perspectives. Although when one looks at the story from both perspectives it seems exceedingly more complex. Primarily this complexity comes about at the times the characters’ respective narratives collide. Another reason is that both narratives have unreliable tellings. Meaning that there is uncertainty in what is truly going on. Unfortunately this also results in a story so bizarre that it may turn a lot of readers off.

The art switches between drawing by hand to photographs with distortions. This creates a jarring experience that will affect each reader to a different extent. In terms of quality the lack of change to the majority of the photographs causes them to feel low. However, the regular art has some inconsistent proportions despite being of otherwise decent quality. Though the regular drawings inconsistencies may partly be due to one character’s imaginings. As for the colors they elevate both types of art, but they are arguably more effective with the regular art. This is due to more completion occurring with the coloring process on the regular art.

When it comes to how Sinclair letters this comic the positioning is fine. Also it appears Sinclair letters this comic by hand so the word balloons and text look a little uneven and/or rough. Nevertheless it is all able to be read.

Sprout is currently available as a limit run at http://craigsinclair.co.uk.