Canto: If I Only Had a Heart

by David Booher, Drew Zucker (Illustrator)

Overview

Enslaved for generations, Canto's people once had hearts. Now they have clocks.

They are forbidden to love, yet Canto loves a little tin girl. When slavers damage her clock beyond repair, Canto embarks on an incredible journey through his strange and fantastic world to bring back her heart. As he faces fearsome creatures and finds unlikely allies, can he conquer the mysterious figure who has taken their hearts to save the one he loves?

Hailed as a "truly entertaining and striking modern fairy tale" (Newsarama) and a "beautiful and heartfelt story about love and heroism" (The Brazen Bull), Canto is an all-ages adventure for past and present generations alike. Inspired by Wizard of Oz and Dante's Inferno. Part fantasy. Part adventure. All heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684056217
Publisher:	IDW Publishing
Publication date:	03/24/2020
Series:	Canto
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	460,109
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

David Booher grew up in a small town outside Cleveland, Ohio and became a Los Angeles lawyer before realizing writing was more fun. When he's not writing about the oppression of people without super powers...or a dude who chases aliens...or the creepiest parts of human nature...you can find him geeking out at comic conventions and marveling at how his husband and their adopted greyhound continue to put up with him. He grew up reading Stephen King, watching The Goonies and Nightmare on Elm Street, eating Lucky Charms in front of He-Man, trading Garbage Pail Kids, playing Nintendo, and going outside.

Drew Zucker is a New York based artist and 2010 graduate of The Savannah College of Art and Design. Having co-created multiple comic projects he eventually found his way to the co-creation of Canto. He currently lives in NYC where he works as a medical worker by training and continues to produce comics.

Editorial Reviews

02/17/2020

“Live in a cage long enough,” opines a character in this high-minded but thinly plotted allegorical fantasy, “you no longer see the bars.” In the ravaged land of Arcana, a diminutive, puppy-eyed humanoid in medieval armor, Canto (defiantly named despite a rule against individual identity), toils under slavery with the rest of his people, whose hearts have been replaced with clockwork. Inspired by the legend of a heroic knight, Canto escapes and sets out on a quest to find the missing heart of the humanoid girl who gave him his forbidden name, which leads him to a villain called the Shrouded Man and the uncovering of secrets about who controls his world. The dense storybook art, drawn in thick, bold lines and saturated in bright colors, lays out old-fashioned fantasy landscapes crawling with magical creatures: giants, tiny dragons, shrieking Furies, and ferocious feline monsters called Malorex. But the character designs have a juvenile look, and the busy page layouts sometimes feel showy at the expense of storytelling. Likewise, the narrative works in some clever ideas but pushes too hard on predictable moral lessons, giving the characters no room to breathe. The resulting tale, with all its familiar Oz-and-others references, never escapes its own boundaries despite its moments of beauty. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

The creative team of Canto has found a way to portray a universe of actual darkness where the ultimate act of heroism is to find a way for a heart to be found.” —Gabriel Rodríguez (Locke & Key, Island of Dr. Moreau)
        
“Dark and magical with a glowing heart of gold. If The Wizard of Oz and Labyrinth gave birth to a hero, it would be Canto.”  —Delilah S. Dawson (Star Wars: Phasma, Marvel Action Spider-Man)  

“An amazing journey of epic proportions and little characters. The kind of story I never get tired of reading.” —Jorge Corona (Middlewest)

 “Wonderfully endearing and imaginative; Canto is the exact kind of comic we need right now.” —Michael Moreci (Star Wars, Black Star Renegades)
 
“A classic in the making. You’ll want to catch this one. It’s full of heart and looks just beautiful.” —Cavan Scott (Star Wars Adventures, Tales from Vader’s Castle)

“Canto grabs your heart and never lets go. A must-read fairy tale.” —Jason Inman (Geek History Lesson)

“A beautiful blend of Phillip K. Dick and L. Frank Baum, a harrowing android love story thrown back into times of steampunk whimsy. And yet, this has the feel of modern magic, make sure you’re a part of it!” —Steve Orlando (Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Batman/Shadow)

“Canto is not to be missed.” —Nerdist

“The next great fantasy epic.” —Comicon.com 

“An excellent example of the power of comic storytelling.” —Pop Mythology

“A quest story to savor.” —Major Spoilers 

“A gorgeously illustrated epic.” —Comic Week

"An absolute delight." —Nerdly

"An excellent debut." —CBR.com 

"I had admittedly set some rather high expectations but I still wasnt prepared for how hard this hit me in the feels. To have evoked so much emotion in such a short space of time is no easy feat. Im not saying this will have you welling up, but if it doesnt at least stir you, maybe youve had your heart replaced too." —Big Comic Page

"Canto is a beautiful and heartfelt story about love and heroism and all that can be good in the world despite all that is bad. It is simple, and marvelous and absolutely lovely, a fresh voice and change of pace. It is a light in the dark." —The Brazen Bull

"It kind of feels like a 1980s-1990s animated film. You know, like The Secret of NIMH, The Iron Giant, The Land Before Time. Sometimes you get that feeling like 'geez… this is a little grim and dire' but it has that joyfulness to it as well. I think the book's tagline captures the book perfectly: 'Part Fantasy. Part Adventure. All Heart.' That is all you need to know about Canto." —Word of the Nerd

"Canto absolutely knocked me off my feet this year. This heart-pounding, evocative series about a small, courageous robot who goes on an epic quest to save his beloved before her time runs out — literally — reduced me to tears with nearly every issue." —The Beat, Best Comics of 2019

“If you love fantasy and want something dark, sweet and a little bitter in your reading pile, then this is for you.” —Starburst Magazine

From the Publisher