Swedish born comic creator Peter Bergting shows off his love of Eastern European folk lore in his new com “Domovoi.†The mixture of real life and the fantasy has massive potential, but the end result makes readers wanting a little more out of the experience.
And just so you know, a domovoi is a Slavic house spirit similar to that of Northern Europe’s poltergeist.
Taking place in a Stockholm where magic creatures exist, waitress Jennie is pursued by two supernatural hitmen because she has a bag with magical bones that her grandma, a powerful witch, harvested. She must now enter a world that she has no desire to in order to protect these bones.
There may be many magical elements in the story (a talking cat, anyone?) but Bergting manages to keep the story more realistic in tone. The story feels more like an action movie where a girl is avoiding kidnap than a fantasy. That’s where the story shines the most. It doesn’t really need any kind of magic when the magic itself stems from a strong narrative.
The magical bits themselves aren’t your typical fare either. Drawing motivation from Russian and Slavic lore, these creatures are a nice change from the typical Northern European kind that is normally seen in Fantasy.
The story does suffer from a few problems. The first being Jennie seems to be pretty lackluster. She does have an interesting personality (tomboyish and free spirited,) but the problem with her is that she seems to be just there for the ride. In fact, that seems the problem with all the characters. Here are these characters that are interesting and likable, but they don’t do much in terms of narrative. The mostly useless character of all is the cat, Bulka. She’s more of a sidekick that’s there for moral support than an active participant. She does nothing important.
The art is a mixture of skillfully done and awkwardness. It’s in a European style that sets it apart from its peers. The characters have a sort of quirkiness and style to them that is not always seen. The color usage really brings out the backgrounds and brings the real world into a nice fantasy world. The awkwardness, though rare, are minor details. One is that many of the adults have these tiny eyes while Jennie and a few others have these well shaped eyes. Then there are the rare moments where the art doesn’t make clear what’s going on or an awkward facial expression.
“Domovoi†is a flawed comic with an interesting story and characters but is a little underutilized. Its strong points do make for an interesting story, but it feels just a tad underwhelming.
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