Aria (Image Comics)

Aria is a comic book metaseries published by Image Comics (initially through Avalon Studios), written by Brian Holguin and drawn by Jay Anacleto.

Its protagonist is Kildare, a faerie who has chosen to live amongs the mortals.

There have been several Aria miniseries written over the course of 1999–2003, which have been collected in trade paperbacks.

The story opens in a New York bookshop, specializing in the esoteric. The shop owner, a sardonic young woman named Kildare, over the course of a day deals with a woman who found a sword in her flat, two goths who want to drink absinthe, and a man looking for a bargain-basement love potion. After work, she goes back to her flat, where she is greeted by a talking mirror and a fish tank full of tiny merpeople.

She goes to a club which caters to an unusual clientele, where it becomes apparent that the woman is a Fae noble. She meets a man named Pug, later revealed to be a dwarf, and the bartender Dion, who is none other than the Greek god Dionysus. On the way home, she is attacked by a group of shadowy creatures.

Meanwhile, in an elven pub in Cottingly, a group of Fae are killed by further shadowy creatures.

In New York, Pug has rescued Kildare, and they are both looking for some answers. We are also introduced to Childe Roland, a half-elf street artist.

The death of the drinkers means that all of the Fae must return to their realm, temporarily for the funeral. 'Mad Ginny', the heroine's cousin, a touch insane, is the ultimate cause of the Cottingly Fairies fiasco. She, too, is being stalked by the shadowy creatures.