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Namesake Comic #2
Namesake, Volume 2
As Emma Crewe continues her journey in Oz, she uncovers a story as entangled as the en- chanted vines she is fighting � of love, loss, and the lengths that people will go to protect their family. As she, Warrick, Agha, Hercilia, and the Scarecrow get closer to unraveling the mystery behind Ozma.
This volume contains Intermission #1, chapter 6-10 of the fantasy webcomic and a book- exclusive story.
This volume contains Intermission #1, chapter 6-10 of the fantasy webcomic and a book- exclusive story.
172 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Isabelle Melançon
22Ìýbooks38ÌýfollowersIsabelle Melançon is a French-Canadian artist born in 1985. She grew up in a family of book and comic-lovers. She reads manga, European comics and American comics and has been drawing ever since she could lift a pencil. She used to want to be a dragon-riding knight, then envisioned a career change as a fantasy writer at the age of 10.
Since then, Isabelle has been drawing her way through school, which included doodling on lockers, and graduated from the University of Ottawa with a visual arts and administration double-major. Isabelle has a few published graphic novels and art exhibits under her belt. Namesake is her first long-term project.
Isabelle’s drawing style is heavily influenced by American and Japanese animation, as well as older Victorian and french illustration work, creating a fluid yet detailed mix.
She is madly in love with fairy tales and literature and enjoys playing with the classics in her comic and written works.
She has been maintaining a LiveJournal “comic journal� about her life and favorite fandoms for the past five years. She currently lives in Montréal, Québec with her significant other, “Link�.
She bites and pokes with a rusty spoon when provoked and believes that sarcasm can be an art form.
Since then, Isabelle has been drawing her way through school, which included doodling on lockers, and graduated from the University of Ottawa with a visual arts and administration double-major. Isabelle has a few published graphic novels and art exhibits under her belt. Namesake is her first long-term project.
Isabelle’s drawing style is heavily influenced by American and Japanese animation, as well as older Victorian and french illustration work, creating a fluid yet detailed mix.
She is madly in love with fairy tales and literature and enjoys playing with the classics in her comic and written works.
She has been maintaining a LiveJournal “comic journal� about her life and favorite fandoms for the past five years. She currently lives in Montréal, Québec with her significant other, “Link�.
She bites and pokes with a rusty spoon when provoked and believes that sarcasm can be an art form.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 16, 2014
I purchased and pledged both the digital ebook and the limited hardcover book through Kickstarter.
There comes a time while reading any well-written tale that you come across a point of "enlightenment". When you get so immersed in the story that time stops, all sounds disappear creating a protective bubble in which it is just you and the book that you are reading. This "enlightenment" is a very good sign that you are reading a particularly extraordinary tale. Writer Megan Lavey-Heaton and illustrator Isabelle Melançon's Namesake is that kind of extraordinary tale. In the first volume we are shown the skeletons of what the story was about and the settings that come into play. We were introduced to the main protagonists with a group of colorful supporting characters and were told the crisis that effects both the normal world and the fantastical world. In this second volume we continue to venture forth with characters that we already know and love and see just how twisted this story will get.
As we continue Emma's and Elaine's fantastical adventures we get more knowledge and backstories with the many supporting characters that accompany our protagonists and get a clearer view of the hand that fate has dealt them. As Emma journeys farther into the Land of Oz, she quickly learns that things are not as they should be. With the land at the brink of war from an unknown enemy, she must face what might come as the heroine of this unlikely tale.
What I adore about Emma is her can-do spirit, doing what is right no matter the odds or the obstacles. She relies on the friends she makes along the way, but is also stronger for it. She never automatically believes in what people tell her, she'd rather make her own opinions about such matters and that's a great way to look at life. Since she's an older heroine with some life experience she knows that the world is not made of black and white but shades of grey. Everything has a cause and effect and she'd rather look at things as the outsider she is and see the root of the problem rather than putting fuel to the fire and using scapegoats. It's through her mature attitude that she creates the friends that she has and makes other realize that people are not who they appear to be on the surface. You can't help but root for Emma in her victories and worry for her when she's in trouble. I said it before and I'll say it again, Emma truly is a heroine to aspire to.
Meanwhile, we learn more of Elaine's unique talents and her possible role in this whole mess. She is a special girl in this story that's for sure and you get an inkling why that is as her character is more fleshed out through side stories. One things for certain, things are never what they appear to be so I'm keeping an open-mind on her still early character traits. Her love for her older sister Emma knows no bounds and that is very heartwarming to see and rare to read these days. I have a soft spot for sister stories so although they didn't meet in this volume, I have no doubt that they will find each other in the future and that moment will be a really good moment.
And the art, oh the art! Isabelle Melançon continues to visually weave this fascinating tale with artistic and professional execution. There is nothing drawn that has no meaning and the coordinated use of color in a mostly colorless story is simply brilliant. With or without color, the art holds it's own as it guides you deeper into this unique tale of the Oz mythos. I can honestly say that this is one of the unique times in which the script and the artwork work in harmony and that is always a beautiful sight.
This series is simply one of the best independently created works I've ever had. The writing is amazing, the art equally so and I find myself pining for the next volume. I know, I know, I can easily read it online. But as I've said before, there's just something special about having a graphic novel in paper form. And after getting this limited edition hardcover book, I can honestly see that it is a beauty to behold. I can't wait for the next Kickstarter. Volume 3, here I come!
If you would like to read this amazing story, the web comic is available at .
There comes a time while reading any well-written tale that you come across a point of "enlightenment". When you get so immersed in the story that time stops, all sounds disappear creating a protective bubble in which it is just you and the book that you are reading. This "enlightenment" is a very good sign that you are reading a particularly extraordinary tale. Writer Megan Lavey-Heaton and illustrator Isabelle Melançon's Namesake is that kind of extraordinary tale. In the first volume we are shown the skeletons of what the story was about and the settings that come into play. We were introduced to the main protagonists with a group of colorful supporting characters and were told the crisis that effects both the normal world and the fantastical world. In this second volume we continue to venture forth with characters that we already know and love and see just how twisted this story will get.
As we continue Emma's and Elaine's fantastical adventures we get more knowledge and backstories with the many supporting characters that accompany our protagonists and get a clearer view of the hand that fate has dealt them. As Emma journeys farther into the Land of Oz, she quickly learns that things are not as they should be. With the land at the brink of war from an unknown enemy, she must face what might come as the heroine of this unlikely tale.
What I adore about Emma is her can-do spirit, doing what is right no matter the odds or the obstacles. She relies on the friends she makes along the way, but is also stronger for it. She never automatically believes in what people tell her, she'd rather make her own opinions about such matters and that's a great way to look at life. Since she's an older heroine with some life experience she knows that the world is not made of black and white but shades of grey. Everything has a cause and effect and she'd rather look at things as the outsider she is and see the root of the problem rather than putting fuel to the fire and using scapegoats. It's through her mature attitude that she creates the friends that she has and makes other realize that people are not who they appear to be on the surface. You can't help but root for Emma in her victories and worry for her when she's in trouble. I said it before and I'll say it again, Emma truly is a heroine to aspire to.
Meanwhile, we learn more of Elaine's unique talents and her possible role in this whole mess. She is a special girl in this story that's for sure and you get an inkling why that is as her character is more fleshed out through side stories. One things for certain, things are never what they appear to be so I'm keeping an open-mind on her still early character traits. Her love for her older sister Emma knows no bounds and that is very heartwarming to see and rare to read these days. I have a soft spot for sister stories so although they didn't meet in this volume, I have no doubt that they will find each other in the future and that moment will be a really good moment.
And the art, oh the art! Isabelle Melançon continues to visually weave this fascinating tale with artistic and professional execution. There is nothing drawn that has no meaning and the coordinated use of color in a mostly colorless story is simply brilliant. With or without color, the art holds it's own as it guides you deeper into this unique tale of the Oz mythos. I can honestly say that this is one of the unique times in which the script and the artwork work in harmony and that is always a beautiful sight.
This series is simply one of the best independently created works I've ever had. The writing is amazing, the art equally so and I find myself pining for the next volume. I know, I know, I can easily read it online. But as I've said before, there's just something special about having a graphic novel in paper form. And after getting this limited edition hardcover book, I can honestly see that it is a beauty to behold. I can't wait for the next Kickstarter. Volume 3, here I come!
If you would like to read this amazing story, the web comic is available at .
January 26, 2020
I was even more disappointed in the second volume than I was in the first. I would have thought that all the exposition that was done in the first volume would have been enough and that this second volume could get to the fun story parts. Instead I found the second volume even worse because it was still bogged down in explaining things AND it expected the reader to remember everything that has been explained in the first volume! Their specific and limited use of color I think is meant to be symbolic but ends up being annoying because it makes it harder to tell the characters apart and there are a ton of characters. As for the story, it is such a cool idea but involves way too much explaining and world building for my taste.
October 23, 2020
As Emma continues her perilous journey through Oz, accompanied by a variety of colourful allies, she finds herself haunted by a strange ghostly woman and becoming further entangled in the dangers of the mysterious Ozma...Melançon and Lavey-Heaton continue this fantastical story with another volume packed full of mystery, magic and intrigue. What sort of strange sights will Emma be forced to see before she can find her way back home?
May 23, 2014
It's like someone tossed a bunch of classic fantasy novels in a tornado as it ripped through Kansas, then ejected the contents on the magical side of the rainbow. Do recommend. Also, wonderful illustration. Read it here:
April 1, 2019
Soo I hadn't realized how much of the comic I had already read but it's just SO GOOD! I love the characters (especially Emma and Elaine) and the use of the different colors. Go read the comic ASAP!!
March 27, 2019
3.5
I feel like this one was more packed (word wise) than the first one. It had a lot more content. It was really interesting, it kept me turning the pages. I’m reading it online on their webpage, I kind of wish I had it in person because it would be easier to read that way. I also found there are seven books... I don’t know how I feel about that. I thought there were only 3. We’ll see how far I’ll take it. I am going to read the 3rd one. And I’m reading them pretty closely together, I already feel them running together where I won’t be able to remember what events happened in what book.
I also wish it was all in color.
I feel like this one was more packed (word wise) than the first one. It had a lot more content. It was really interesting, it kept me turning the pages. I’m reading it online on their webpage, I kind of wish I had it in person because it would be easier to read that way. I also found there are seven books... I don’t know how I feel about that. I thought there were only 3. We’ll see how far I’ll take it. I am going to read the 3rd one. And I’m reading them pretty closely together, I already feel them running together where I won’t be able to remember what events happened in what book.
I also wish it was all in color.
September 18, 2022
I feel much the same way about this volume as I did the last one- it's compelling, but odd and dark. This one feels even darker than the first volume did. I also think it can be hard to keep track of what's going on - I was a little lost in reading this and I only read the first volume about 10 days ago.
The other frustrating thing is that this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with no other books in publication that I can tell. I don't really want to have to read the webcomic to find out what else went on.
Overall I wouldn't recommend this series.
The other frustrating thing is that this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with no other books in publication that I can tell. I don't really want to have to read the webcomic to find out what else went on.
Overall I wouldn't recommend this series.
October 2, 2017
What can I say, I like Warrick, as is completely expected. This volume had a lot more interest once some of that introductory stuff was taken care of in the first volume. I still don't totally love it, but it was interesting and quick.
October 8, 2020
I was kind of getting confused bc some of the characters looked the same, there were so many character names getting thrown around, and also the style of the speech bubbles makes it look like they're thinking everything, but the plot thickens
August 23, 2017
This book contains the parts of the series that really hooked me. I can't wait until volume 3 is in my hands.
November 22, 2019
This one left me wishing I had the 3rd volume. What is the implications of being a writer? When will her sister become a bigger part of the story and where oh where do these hearts lie?
August 9, 2020
Continuing journey through an alternate Oz. I really love this story and this art style.
March 3, 2014
I really hope there isn't too long of a delay before volume 3. I love this webseries, but reading the old stuff makes me remember just how many loose ends they have going on and how much I wish we could get back to the Oz timeline.
September 13, 2018
Still sooooooo addicted! Namesake 2 delves deeper into Oz as Emma and her friends search for Ozma, and more mysteries are revealed! I finished the rest of the available story online, but I can't wait for books 3 and 4 to be released!
October 16, 2016
Volume 2 compiled from the webcomic. The team continues in their quest to save Ozma and we learn more about magic! And then learn less about ghosts! Beautiful art and fascinating characters!
February 2, 2017
Better than volume 1! I got more into the story, love the artwork defining each chapter and looking forward to the next part!
February 1, 2014
Loved everything about it. Had everything I look for in a graphic novel.
<3
<3
October 16, 2018
Again, Isa and Meg have done a remarkable job. The Namesake universe continues to be enthralling and pull you in, with an awesome cast of characters, an engaging plot, and beautiful artwork!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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