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Kurt Busiek is a great worldbuilder. He’s known for runs on The Avengers and Untold Tales of Spider-Man, sure, but he’s best known for creating Astro City, a comic series that built a whole new world around classic superhero tropes, allowing him to investigate things with these characters that the corporate owners of iconic heroes wouldn’t allow. It’s a brilliant series, full of heart and wonder. His new series, The Autumnlands, is another example of outstanding worldbuilding, crafting a comic that is ostensibly about magic talking animals, but is more about society and how people live in it.

The first volume of this new series opens in an idyllic setting. It’s a beautiful city populated by anthropomorphic animals. The narrator, Dunstan, is an adolescent terrier who is the son of an important trader and wizard in the floating city. Within a short time, we see his father trading with a landbound Bison Tribe, and the reader is made to understand there is a clear class distinction between those who live in the sky and those who live on the earth.

"Another example of outstanding worldbuilding, crafting a comic that is ostensibly about magic talking animals, but is more about society and how people live in it."

The reader is then treated to a gorgeous set of pages as wizards from various other cities, and of various other animal species, begin to arrive. We learn that magic, the foundation upon which this society is built, is starting to fade, and Gharta, a warthog sorceress, has a bold plan to save it: use magic to pull The Great Champion, a mythic hero from the time before magic, to the present and have him awaken magic as he did before. Gharta works with various other wizards, including the egotistical owl, Sandorst of Samia, and is indeed able to pull the Great Champion to the present. But it uses not only all the magic the wizards have, but all the magic that keeps the floating cities floating. With a thunderous crash, the cities collapse. And that’s just the end of chapter one.

The main plot of this volume is a classic story of survival. The animals of Keneil, the floating city, must find a way to hold out while they seek help from the other cities. The wilderness of the earth is not without its share of threats. Not only is there the Bison Tribe and its leader, the formidable Seven-Scars, who seeks revenge for all the ills the cloud dwellers have done to him and his people, but there are monsters galore, including giants bats --- plus the simple fact that these are not beings used to living hand-to-mouth in a disaster-riddled city. So much of this story involves watching as the different beings line up behind either Gharta or Sandorst and deciding what needs to be done.

But more than that, there is the Great Champion, who has now appeared. And he is…Steven T. Learoyd, a soldier from a bygone era who is distinctly human. It’s a hilarious juxtaposition, as these animals are expecting not only an animal hero, one of noble bearing and wizardly might, but instead get a human who comes from an era of science. There are hints that Learoyd did something that flipped the world’s balance from science to magic, but it is not made clear in this volume. What we do see is that Learoyd is clever, good with his hands, and takes no guff. He is foul mouthed and says exactly what he’s thinking, which stands in marked contrast to so many of these aristocratic sorcerer animals.

The story slowly rolls out as the power struggle continues, although it’s mostly Sandorst doing his best to seize power, while Gharta is none the wiser until it’s too late. Dunstan becomes the friend and a sort of squire to Learoyd, as the Champion does his best to protect the animals, despite partially believing this is all an injury-conjured dream back on the battlefield. Meanwhile, a coyote called Goodfoot the Trader arrives, playing Sandorst against Gharta and working with the Bison to position everyone in whatever is the most advantageous situation for her. Busiek is commenting on the nature of power and the nature of conflict, and those who profit from both.

All of this would make for a good story, but it’s artist Benjamin Dewey who absolutely sells it. His work is detailed and lush, really developing the world that these animals inhabit. The city has a warm feeling to it at the beginning, which makes his illustrations of the wreck it becomes all the more disheartening. And he succeeds in something that I’ve found many artists have a hard time doing: making his animals remain animals while still making their faces expressive. These aren’t people who have animal characteristics. They are animals who behave like people, and yet a snout or beak and the eyes of the animals can be read like a face.

It’s important to note that, unlike most stories that feature anthropomorphized animals, this is not an all ages story. The violence is graphic, there is full frontal nudity, and the language can be coarse.

THE AUTUMNLANDS: Tooth and Claw is a strong debut for this new series, creating a fascinating world of magic and intrigue. Strong character work leaves the readers wanting to know what will happen as the series continues. It’s a story that suits the medium of comics, with its action, beautiful designs, and visual scope.

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