Review added December 14, 2021

Korgi (Book 5): End of Seasons

Review by Jouni Pohjola

Christian Slade's original idea for his wordless graphic novel series Korgi was to publish one book per year for a total of ten volumes, but the schedule was abandoned several years ago and now we have come to the grand finale in half the number of parts planned. Which may be a good thing in more ways than one. Firstly, at the production speed of this and the previous book we would have needed to wait another 25 or so years to read the conclusion. Secondly, Slade did not have time run out of ideas as sometimes happens with long series.

In End of Seasons, winter has come to Korgi Hollow. Unfazed by the cold, the Mollies and their Korgi companions frolic in the snow and on ice, blissfully unaware that the evil magician Derog-Glaw is ready make his decisive move against them. His aim as always is to capture Sprout the fire-breathing Korgi and to drink the unfortunate dog's blood in order to change back into his erstwhile human form. Which should tell you that, despite being marketed for the whole family, there are some scenes that are definitely too scary and brutal for the very wee ones in this book. The bit older ones can expect a lot of action, several secrets revealed and a couple of characters from the very first two books putting in an appearance. And without spoiling the story too much, I'm sure, there is also an eventual happy ending after all the excitement.

As befits the conclusion of an epic series, the last book is the longest of the volumes at a whopping 160 pages. Slade's art is as effective as always, his pen and ink drawings capturing movement with the flair of an artist trained as an animator. So other than having had to wait a long time for this book, the only fault I can really find with it is the fact that it's the last one. But all good things must come to an end of course, and End of Seasons brings the main story to a satisfying conclusion while leaving open a slight possibility for further, unrelated adventures (as in Korgi: Short Tails) with Ivy and Sprout.

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Review added September 17, 2017