PIROUETTE #1 Review

Is this trip to the circus a memorable one? Or will you leave feeling like a clown? Read on to find out.

The official description from Black Mask Studios:

The circus is the Greatest Show On Earth, unless you’re the attraction. Raised from infancy by duplicitous clowns who entertain by day and menace by night, Pirouette dreams of washing the paint from her face and escaping to a better life far away from her cruel adoptive circus family… because when the spotlights dim and the crowd disperses, the clown princess’ big-top dreams give way to a nightmarish world of monsters with painted smiles.

“Last chance, come all! Come inside! Have a ball! At Samwell’s Circus of Curious and Wonder!” Don’t you just love the circus? In my case this is especially the case when the circus in question enters the world of the extra weird. Pirouette definitely falls into this line, with this opening issue giving both fun, and dark moments, as well as a fantastic premise. It also introduces us to a very intriguing female clown named… you guessed it, Pirouette, who’d rather sail the air as a trapezist than be a clown.

Mark L. Miller spins a thrilling tale throughout this opening issue, as though we only get a glimpse at the horror side of this tale, there are some dark elements throughout. Despite this it’s the character development that really captured my interest, with the way that Pirouette’s weakness and strength conflict with one another adding a lot of depth to both her personality and the story. The story itself proves very enticing, as though it seems like your standard circus, there are some moments that prove out of the ordinary, with the villainous The Duke being a dislikeable bad guy.

If Miller’s script was very good, then Carlos Granda‘s art was phenomenal. Having pristine detail throughout, Granda manages to capture the excitement of this circus world, with the wide panels being full of energy. It is however once again the character focus that appeals to me the most, with the character expressions conveying the ever changing emotions perfectly. What personally enticed me about this aspect was the more twisted expressions, with the wickedness giving a glimpse into the horror genre that this series is set in. Rounding all this up we get fabulous colours from El Cómic En Línea Foundation, with the mixture of dark and vibrant colours bringing this world of entertainment alive.

Ever desired a intelligent circus based series? Then Pirouette is for you. Though it’s still to show the true potential of the horror genre, it manages to give enthralling character development with some entertaining moments along the way. Due to this I highly recommend this issue, and will definitely be returning for the second.