''Tellos'' is a
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...
comic book series created by
Todd Dezago
Todd Dezago (born 1961) is an American comic book writer best known for his collaborations with artist Mike Wieringo on ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' and their creator-owned fantasy series ''Tellos''.
Early life
Todd Dezago was raised in Rhinebe ...
and
Mike Wieringo
Michael Lance Wieringo (June 24, 1963 – August 12, 2007), who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' '' The Flash'', Marvel Comics' '' Spider-Man'' and ''Fantastic Fo ...
and published by
Image Comics
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...
. Three issues at the end of the initial run were printed through
Gorilla Comics Gorilla Comics was a short-lived American comic book imprint launched in 2000 by creators Kurt Busiek, Tom Grummett, Stuart Immonen, Karl Kesel, Barry Kitson, George Pérez, Mark Waid, and Mike Wieringo. Characters were creator-owned, and books we ...
, which was co-founded by Wieringo. After that company folded, the book returned to Image as a series of one-shots. Wieringo died on August 12, 2007, leaving the future of the series in doubt.
Plot
The series features a young boy named Jarek and his anthropomorphic tiger companion Koj. They encounter the swashbuckling pirate Serra, a fox thief named Rikk, his companion in crime Hawke, Brad the dragon, Tom a turtlish-wizard, and many other mysterious entities. The heroes strive to unravel the mystery behind Jarek's origin and escape the attentions of a mad boy-wizard named Malesur who is seemingly bent on Jarek's destruction.
Jarek has a powerful genie at his control, who is limited to defending Jarek only. Jarek tends to throw himself between his friends and danger so the genie is forced into battle.
The series features shadow-hopping ninja frogs as enemy cannon fodder. In fact, many of the citizens of this realm are
anthropomorphic animals
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
, though there are many others who are full-human, such as Hawke and Serra.
About midway through, the series takes a break from Koj and Jarek to focus on Hawke and Rikk in an adventure in a levitating city which is held down by chains.
The heroes band together to stop Malesur, the boy-wizard, once and for all. During the latter part of the series, Jarek suffers a severe injury, requiring him to wear an eyepatch for some time.
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