The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and The Case of the Two-Faced Statue by Jerzy Drozd. Iron Circus, 2024. 978163899143. 248pp.
Doctor Baer (that’s him, the plush-bear-looking dude on the cover) stores adventurers’ cursed objects. His house is also home to many a weird, possibly evil magical creature, as two adventurers discover when they bring a cursed werewolf head to him. Once placed in his vault, in the gaze of his stone guardians, the werewolf’s spirit emerges to join his household.
Outside, a bird sorcerer (Gallus) and his trusty steed (Wilhemina) are trying to break in. Inside, Doctor Baer is feeding his residents. Soon two new adventurers, Pickles (a pig) and Taft (a huge turtle), approach the house. Their entrance gives Gallus and Wilhemina the opportunity to break in and try to steal Baer’s stone guardian, though Doctor Baer manages to save the elemental wisps in the stone, and its parts are scattered.
If Gallus puts the stone guardian back together first, he’ll be able to nullify any magic used against him. Dr. Baer has to stop that, obviously. The wisps of elemental magic will help, as will Pickles and Taft, who both feel a little guilty.
What follows is a lighthearted adventure with lots of action. Drozd’s art carries the story right along, and the colors are truly magical.
