Out of My Element by Alli and Jim Perry

Jillian Chevalier never really fit in with her noble peers. When a stint of wanderlust goes awry, the gears of her world begin to whirl out of control; Suddenly she finds herself befriended by a group of rebels, propositioned by the most powerful man in the city and to top it all off – the truth about her heredity is brought to light.

Now she has to keep the truth about herself hidden, satisfy her unending curiosity about the rebellion’s true purpose and rebuff the approaches of a man who could ruin her life with but a word.

Story

I believe I stumbled across Out of My Element by Alli and Jim Perry a couple years ago, but never got very far with the story. The problem wasn’t the comic, but rather the timing for me. I picked it up when I wasn’t really looking for anything new to read. This caused me to miss out on something great.

Alli and Jim Perry planned exactly where they wanted this story to go, and it is evident that they put the time into this project. Creating a fantastic plot is only part of the hassle, though. You also need to be able to introduce your characters well in order for that plot to be able to develop. I’d say that the Perry’s do a pretty good job at this, too.

Casual conversations is a great way to introduce personality traits.

Out of My Element also offers some nice comedic relief, yet still staying on the path for a serious plot. The humour merely compliments the story buildups and helps keep it going when a standstill could have otherwise threatened the plot development.

The humour is so subtle sometimes, and so integrated into the story, that it just adds to the flow of the comic.

Overall, with a well-laid out plot and sustainable characters, the Perry’s have created a professional vibe for a very lovely comic.

Writing

As for the writing, there were some grammar errors that I caught that most people would have overlooked (sorry, I’m a grammar Nazi). Double-check and then triple-check the proper word in those tricky areas. Break out that English Grammar for Dummies book if you need to!

I’ll move on since most of you probably don’t want to hear me rant about grammar forever.

This one is actually a comic characteristic, but I felt that it was pretty noticeable in Out of My Element: one way conversations. I understand the purpose of them, it helps the reader know what the character is thinking (especially when they are alone), but I feel like there may be some areas where more show and less tell could be used to accomplish the same results.

Don’t worry. I talk to myself when I’m alone too… and sometimes in public.

However, when characters actually did share a conversation, they were really well done. In fact, there was some serious character chemistry in some scenes, so much so that it felt like a tv show more than a comic. Chemistry is hard to capture, but the Perry’s did an excellent job!

What’s that word you kids use nowadays? “Ship?”

Art

Out of My Element not only offers a greatly developed plot, but the art is also on par with the story. This comic utilizes the transfer from black and white into colour, similar to other comics I have read (and reviewed). I love this tactic of demonstrating a big plot climax by throwing colour into the mix. Although it isn’t always done to highlight an important event, these artists seem to know exactly when the best time to transition is.

Her hair reminds me of that time a kid I knew dyed his hair green. When you asked him about it, he would run his hand from his nose to his hair, sniffing, “It’s natural.”

Along with the gorgeous artwork and the use of colour, comes the ability to create great character designs. The Perry’s demonstrate this creativity by tying the story world and history in with the way the characters are designed. The characters have unique traits that are represented physically, and are hinted at with the use of colours in their outfits.

I’d probably scream too if I saw a naked water-woman.

Moving away from colours, there are a few proportional errors that appear most often in the earlier chapters that could be addressed. However, those errors are relatively nonexistent in the later chapters.

In fact, the art has made some great improvements from page one to where it is currently. The Perry’s also continued to make their art fresh and exciting by changing up the characters’ outfits every now and then.

“On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before.” …or will it?

Conclusion

To conclude, I think that Out of my Element by Alli and Jim Perry is a fantastic story that is perfect for any reader. It has a great plot and some amazing character designs. I would recommend checking this comic out!

You can read Out of My Element, here.