ARIA:SUMMER’S SPELL

Release date : Apr 17. 2002 ～Jul 2. 2002 IMAGE COMICS
ARIA:A MIDWINTER’S DREAM	ARIA:THE USES OF ENCHANTMENT

SUMMARY :A tale of magic, mystery and a love that spans the ages. London, the summer of 1966. The air is electrified with music, the streets are bursting with color, and everywhere you look, Youth is king. Into this strange and brave new world, a wayward knight comes looking for his long lost love: Lady Kildare of the Faerie. Blissfully reunited, the expatriate Fairy Princess helps the time-lost Sir Thomas adapt to the mad whirl of life in the 20th century, a life of motorcars, rock clubs and pop art “happenings.” It has been said that love conquers all, but Kildare must learn the hard way that, unlike her, not everyone is meant to live forever.

Apr 17 2002:ARIA:Summer’s Spell #1
The newspaper had dubbed it “Swinging London.” Seemingly overnight, sleepy London town had become the capital of the Western World. Youth was king and the air was electric. The earth itself seemed to heave forward on the cusp of some great generational shift. The world was a buzz with talk of Mary Quant, King’s Road, Liz and Dick, Mike and Marianne… The old grey heads at the corner pub would just roll their eyes at the telly and its endless parade of decadent youth, our wild clothes and raucous music. But now, when I stop and look back, what I really see is the innocence. I see just how young and green and naïve we all were. As for me, I was an awkward, spotty lad, eager and clueless, just barely past puberty. I had a taste for magic but little talent. Lady Kildare on the other hand, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, worldy and wondrous. It seemed she’d been everywhere and knew everyone. She needn’t have given the likes of me the time of day, yet she treated me as a friend and introduced me to her mad circle of cohorts. And it was through her, in that heady summer of Nineteen Hundrea and Sixty-Six, that I learned what the word Magic truly meant.

Jul 3 2002:ARIA:Summer’s Spell #2
London’s Brilliant Parade
The newspaper had dubbed it “Swinging London.” Seemingly overnight, sleepy London town had become the capital of the Western World. Youth was king and the air was electric. The earth itself seemed to heave forward on the cusp of some great generational shift. The world was a buzz with talk of Mary Quant, King’s Road, Liz and Dick, Mike and Marianne… The old grey heads at the corner pub would just roll their eyes at the telly and its endless parade of decadent youth, our wild clothes and raucous music. But now, when I stop and look back, what I really see is the innocence. I see just how young and green and naïve we all were. As for me, I was an awkward, spotty lad, eager and clueless, just barely past puberty. I had a taste for magic but little talent. Lady Kildare on the other hand, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, worldy and wondrous. It seemed she’d been everywhere and knew everyone. She needn’t have given the likes of me the time of day, yet she treated me as a friend and introduced me to her mad circle of cohorts. And it was through her, in that heady summer of Nineteen Hundrea and Sixty-Six, that I learned what the word Magic truly meant.

Aria #1～4が現代のニューヨークを舞台にしていたのに対して本作は1966年のロンドンを舞台に物語が描かれていく。但し、ARIA:The Soul MarketでのThomasのキャラクターが本編では一部変更されるなどややブレを感じる。1960年代のイギリスの有名人をカメオ出演させるという意欲は買うが、それ故にストーリーとして歪さを感じる。Lan Medinaがアーティストを担当しているが、それまで描いてきたJay Anacletoの画風と違和感があり、カバー画をJay Anacletoを描いていることでますます本編でのLan Medinaの画風が何か違うという気持ちにさせる。前作が”ARIA:A Midwinter’s Dream”でJay Anacletoの画集であるため、このアーティスト変更が特に際立った。