Rice Boy
Mythic, surreal, whimsical, colorful, and masterful, Evan Dahm’s webcomic classic Rice Boy has been conveniently collected in a print edition.
Rice Boy follows the title character on a winding quest to satisfy an ancient prophecy, a mission that brings him into contact with a seemingly endless stream of creations from Dahm’s fertile imagination. Dahm’s inventiveness is expressed through a myriad of landscapes, and creatures that often transform their appearance.
One of Rice Boy’s allies is T-O-E, short for “The One Electronic,” a machine man whose face is a screen showing an ever-changing series of expressive black-and-white photographic images. Another group of creatures speaks in a pictorial language, and throughout the book, limbs are amputated, taking on life of their own or revealing hidden secrets inside.
Strange as it may be, there’s more than just surface-level experimentation here—Dahm knows how to convey emotion from his cast, particularly the innocent but surprisingly cagey Rice Boy. Dahm’s deceptively simple-looking artwork utilizes a varied and brilliant palette, and it’s just plain fun to look at.
Rice Boy features adventure-story elements reminiscent of classics like The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland, but with frogs as the only traditionally recognizable characters (the villains, no less), this is Dahm’s world: bizarre, unique, and most importantly, enjoyable. This graphic-novel version of Rice Boy provides the opportunity to sit back and relax with the complete story, and to experience full immersion into Dahm’s land of unlimited possibilities.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
