Sigil Out Of Time by: Mike Carey

 

What would you do if you discovered that you had superpowers in another world and could jump through time? What if you found out that you were the only one who could end a war and save the world and the people you loved?

Sixteen year old Sam, loses her mother, and is on a journey of finding herself in Mike Carey’s colorful book Sigil Out of Time. She is growing up in present day South Carolina, and she is leading a typical life. Sam struggles with bullies, and adjusting to life without her mother by her side. She struggles in school, and often has reoccuring nightmares; nightmares that would soon lead her to her destiny.

Sam's fight against the evil teenage girls at her school is endless. They girls repeatedly taunt her, and at one point even thrown paint on her. In addition, Sam is struggling in her history class because when she tries to take the test, she falls into a trance. She day dreams about an old pirate ship with the symbol that matches her birthmark. Sam is curious about the matching mark and what all of this could possibly mean. However, she would have never guessed whats about to happen next.

Sam, through one of her trances, finds herself on a prirate ship in the year of 1695. In Sam's new world, there has been a war going on since the beginning of time, and its unknown who is winning. The war has been drug out, and does not appear to be coming to an end any time soon. The warriors in the battle jump from year to year time traveling trying to achieve victory. It's during this jumping around that Sam finds herself on the boat. To add to her stress and responsiblity, she finds that she in on the same ship with the man who is responsible for her mother's death!

 

Sam is destined to be a great warrior as the birthmark on her chest is a symbol that becomes representative for her future greatness.  In the story, she must find the strength and the courage to finally help end the war and beat the evil happening around her.

 

Sam finds through her dreams that she can jump through time; a trait which her mother also possessed a long with the great warriors. Sam learns to own and control her powers that seem to exhume out of the mark she has on her body. Sam’s story is one of perseverance and inner courage.

 

Sigil: Out Of Time is the first book in a series of comics by Mike Carey. Although I do not have too much experience reading comics, I see Sam a different type of female hero. Carey has created her character in a unique and more modern way. Sam looks like a sixteen year old girl, and does not appear to be too over-sexed like so many woman heroines do like Wonder Woman for example. Her character then becomes more relatable to readers.

Sam is a young adolescent girl who is essentially trying to figure out who she is and is trying to find a place in this world. The book is an easy and enjoyable read; the illustrations are beautifully drawn and really grab the reader’s attention.

 

Sigil Out Of Time was inspired by another comic called El Cazador, and continues to lead with a strong female. Carey describes some of his choices and influences in an interview pasted below with Newarama (click here). For those of us who don't read comics as frequently, I found a video interview with Fantasic Forum and Mike Carey, and Carey talks about his careful choices in chosing illustrators for his works. He also, talks about some of his other sucessful comics like Lucifer and X-Men, and speaks about the comic industry today (click here to see the video).

 

Sigil Out Of Time is a great comic for teens. The main character  is a strong female lead that can be a great influence for young girls reading the comic. Also, it seems like most comics are aimed toward a male audience, so I find it interesting to make a comic that can speak to both men and women readers. I wondered if comics were suitable choices for teens in school, and then I found this artcle (click here) that talked about intriguing and inspiring students to read by using comics. The article explains that more boys are interested in reading comic books, and by having students that are invested in what they are reading, their desire to learn, read, and understand literature is heightened. I also, found a YouTube video making the same agurment for having comic books in the classroom. (click here).

 

After reading Sigil Out Of Time, I have had a change of heart about comic books. I appreciate the pictures as much as I would any written text in another novel. I found myself very interested in this book, and see it being fit for a variety of age groups. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is new to the comic world, but don't take my word for it! Here's another mini synopsis and review of Carey's masterpiece (click here).