Review: A Distant Soil Volume IV

A wounded D'mer, with Galahad and Kovar

The publication of Colleen Doran’s fourth collection of her series A Distant Soil (you can buy it from Amazon) is the perfect opportunity for me to tell you about this gay-inclusive saga, one of the most entertaining I’ve read.

Liana is a young human girl, who finds herself at the center of a large-scale struggle among various factions of the Ovanans, an alien race with psychic powers. The Hierarchy, the dominant, ruthless ruling class of the Ovanans, wants her for themselves, since Liana has the power of the Avatar, the most powerful of all psychics, and a pawn of the Hierarchy. The series follows a group of rebels -led by Rieken, a powerful psychic himself, and his lover D’mer, his pyrokinetic bodyguard- which includes humans, Ovanans, and people from a few other races which have been enslaved by the Ovanans.

D'Mer on fire

The science-fiction aspect of the story is perfectly integrated with the character development which gives its savor to the series. There’s also a very good balance between grim episodes (this is certainly not a light story) and human warmth, for example thanks to the banter between characters of opposite behavior. Rieken and D’mer’s relationship is also integrated in the story, and is the only continuing love story shown therein. A rather rare thing in American comics is the way the sexual aspects are depicted: frankly and without prudishness. That is very refreshing.

Liana & Rieken

The art has evolved a lot since the beginning of the series (which will be finished with the next volume) at the end of the 80′s. Always very expressive, it is now solid and very controlled, without losing its prettiness and decorative side (for an example of her pin-up art, see the D’mer portrait in my gallery).

Colleen Doran is unapologetic about her inclusion of gay (or bi) characters in her series. She obviously enjoys drawing good-looking guys, and there’s a number of varied guys who provide eye candy for gay readers. That is the icing on a high quality cake.