Cucumber Quest is an ongoing comic about the adventures of a young boy named Cucumber. Cucumber and his sister and friends must go on an adventure to save the world from the fiendish Nightmare Knight – but it’s not that easy! As they travel together Cucumber is helped and hindered by friend and foe alike as he tries to figure out a way to put the Nightmare Knight out of commission permanently.
Cucumber Quest is a fantastic blend of clever story, well-rounded and quirky characters, and spectacular locales, all with a heaping helping of humor. Humor is, in fact, the running theme of the story as our reluctant hero makes his way through the world. The creator of Cucumber Quest, Gigi Digi, first gained popularity when she posted her humorous black-and-white spoof comics of the Metal Gear Solid and Persona games on her Livejournal. Her transition from black-and-white to color has been a spectacular one, and is one of the great draws of Cucumber Quest – besides the excellent writing, well-designed world, and did I mention humor? Just take a look at a few of the pages!
Would you look at those colors!
Wow.
I mean really. Gorgeous.
Drool-worthy variety AND humor. What more could you ask for?
Even the ways that the various characters’ color schemes interact is spectacular.
Part of the appeal of Cucumber Quest is that it breaks free of a lot of the stereotypical portrayals of characters in fantasy stories. While Cucumber is supposed to be the Legendary Hero, he’d rather be going to magic school; his sister Almond is much better suited to the role. Almond doesn’t want to be a weak little sister, she wants to be a knight. Sir Carrot is a brave knight of the realm – unless he’s hiding up a tree to get away from a toothless bear. Even the Nightmare Knight is a challenge to the stereotypical “bad guy” mold, seeming distant and apathetic about his role as the ultimate evil in the world, and stopping some of his minions from bothering the captive Princess Parfait. You never know what’s going to happen next in Cucumber Quest, and as it is almost certain that the quest will span the seven kingdoms, it looks like there will be a good chance for a complex and entertaining story to unfold.
You can read Cucumber Quest in its entirety for free online at cucumber.gigidigi.com, and once it’s charmed your socks off you can buy the first volume at her store. The comic updates twice a week, with occasional bonus updates and additional content provided on the website and at the creator’s tumblr.
Usually this is where I would talk about the pros and cons of what I’m reviewing, but to be honest, I like everything about Cucumber Quest, and I’m really excited to see where it will go next. The only thing I could possibly complain about is that I want it to update more often, and that out of sheer love for the series. It’s exciting to see such a talented artist creating original and funny work, and I highly recommend you go read Cucumber Quest as soon as you can!
