‘Sabretooth Dan: A Talent for Danger’ #1 Comic Review

written and illustrated by C.R. Mountain


Sabretooth Dan is a story about a young sabretoothed boy who lives in the 13 Kingdoms, which is a fantastic world full of talking animals, pirates, and mystery. The world C.R. Mountain created for Dan is endearing and has a lot of potential. The publisher, Scout Comics, describes the book as a cross between Calvin & Hobbes and Lord of the Rings. This is a lofty comparison, but gives us an idea of what creator C.R. Mountain was going for with Sabretooth Dan.

We are introduced to Sabretooth Dan as he daydreams about being a swashbuckler when he should be dusting furniture. From the get-go we know that Dan retreats to his imagination while he attends to the tasks assigned by his adopted parents/captors, the Wolves.

C.R. Mountain’s artwork is fun and occasionally really great. The characters are neatly designed, especially the animal characters—their body language is expressive and their scenes are charming and fun. Mountain’s line work is great, especially the pages taking place inside the abandoned library where Mountain combines hatching and gray tones to really make the scene.

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The art in the book is at its best when Mountain is drawing the big scenes, whether it’s showing us the expansive library, or the city, or the marina. These pages are great examples of where the art serves to benefit of the story. They are fun and Mountain uses negative space to great effect, making Dan’s world seem bigger.

On the opposite end, the scenes taking place in Dan’s home, or in quiet moments with his friends, are drawn with little or no background at all. The smaller scenes aren’t given the same care as the larger scenes, so they come across as less important. A few panels without backgrounds can be successful when used sparingly, but less so when the bulk of the page is white space.

Where the book bogs down is in the writing. We’re told that the Wolves are good parents who can be cruel taskmasters, but we don’t see any examples of either. We’re told, about the world Dan lives in, that there are seven great libraries and that running away to find adventure is an accepted practice, but we don’t get to see it. There aren’t any dots for the reader to connect, we don’t get to reach any conclusions on our own.

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Most of what we know about Dan’s world comes from the narration, which can work great, but Dan doesn’t have a particular point of view or personality. He complains about the wolves in one panel, and in the next tells us that he can’t argue with them because “everyone knew that wolves made excellent parents.”

Dan seems to live in a fantastic world that is completely free from conflict or villains. He doesn’t face any real danger. The only obstacle he has to overcome is his own boredom. Ultimately this makes it hard to care about Dan.

Sabretooth Dan is a well-made book but falls short in a few areas. In the end I wish C.R. Mountain had edited the words more and the artwork less.

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