Comics That Should Be Translated: Murena

Its the year 54 AD. The emperor Claudius rules over the Roman Empire, while planning to have his son, Britannicus, inherit the position when he's gone. However, Claudius' wife, Agrippina has other plans: She would much rather have her own son from a previous marriage, Nero, installed on the throne, so that she can rule the empire through him.
Lucius Murena is a young patrician, whose mother Lollia, secretly happens to be the Emperor's lover. When Agrippina learns of Claudius' and Lollia's relationship, she decided that the latter must be done away with, especially since Claudius is planning to divorce Agrippina and have her and her son sent into exile. Lucius, who is a friend of Nero's, decide to plead with the latter for his mother's life, but will Nero be able to stand up to Agrippina?

The above describes some of the events that occur in the first volume of Murena, a French comic written by Jean Dufaux and drawn by Philippe Delaby. The history of ancient Rome is a topic that has fascinated writers for centuries; from William Shakespeare to Robert Graves and Colleen McCullough and has helped spawn such great works of literature as I, Claudius and The Masters of Rome among others. Murena is just as rich a work as any of the aforementioned master-pieces and is warmly recommended to anyone with an interest in historical fiction.

Jean Dufaux is one of the most prolific writers of European comics today, his work can be a bit hit-or-miss (he wrote the Blake & Mortimer comic The Septimus Wave, which I consider to be the absolute nadir of that classic series). With Murena, however, Dufaux has definitely struck lightning. The comic especially shines when it comes to its cast of characters, each one interesting in their own way. As is perhaps expected, the characters who can be described as good are outnumbered by the bad ones. There is no shortage of villains in this comic, from schemers like Agrippina and Poppaea to brutes like the bloodthirsty gladiator, Massam. In contrast to these evil-doers, stands characters like the Nubian gladiator Balba, who becomes a loyal servant of Britannicus after the latter pleaded for his life.

As for Lucius Murena, the comic may carry his name, but as the story progresses it becomes more and more evident that he's not its main character. No, that honor goes to none other than Nero, who is also the comic's most interesting haracter. When he's first introduced to the reader, Nero comes across as a pretty sympathetic figure; a teenager who wants to make a name for himself as a poet and who doesn't seem to have any real desire to rule. Of course, we all know that this won't last. It doesn't take long for Agrippina to find a way to make her son into her (albeit, reluctant at first) accomplice, what the empress doesn't count on is that Nero is not going to be quite the subservient puppet she intended him to be.

This post have focused quite a bit on Dufaux' story, but one can't talk about Murena without mentioning Philippe Delaby's artwork, which is nothing short of superb. Sadly, Delaby passed away in 2014. He did manage to finish the ninth volume in the series, though Murena has been stuck in limbo since. Perhaps its for the best, any artist who seek to take up Delaby's pen is sure to have their work cut out for them.

Wolf Hall: The Mini-Series

As you may or may not know, I'm a fan of historical fiction and among the best works in that genre that I've read recently are Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Out the Bodies, the first two books in a planned trilogy, written by Hilary Mantel. So, when I heard that BBC was making a mini-series based on these books, I was, of course, eager to check it out. I was not disappointed with the result.

For those of you not familiar with Mantel's novels, Wolf Hall is the story of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a blacksmith, who ran away from home at an early age to escape his abusive father and eventually ended up becoming the right-hand man of the infamous Henry VIII. In her books, Mantel draws a nuanced and human portrait of a man who has often been depicted as a pure villain (see Robert Bolt's excellent play A Man For All Seasons for an example of this). In the mini-series is portrayed by Mark Rylance, who does an excellent job. Rylance's Cromwell is a subtle man who never allows his true feelings to be known and who always measures his words before speaking. That is, until he has his enemies where he wants them, at which point, he strikes without mercy.

Rylance is backed up by a strong supporting cast. Damian Lewis plays Henry VIII in what must be one of the best performances of his that I've seen. Lewis' Henry is a terrifying portrait of a capricious and unpredictable individual whose power has clearly gone to his head and Anton Lesser does an excellent job as a very negative depiction of Thomas More. At one point, More utters his famous "I say none harm, I do none harm" - line, which prompt a furious Cromwell to throw the words back in More's face: Cromwell mentions some of the men who More had tortured and burned for being heretics and then asks him how he can claim to do "none harm".

Since she's such an important character, I should also mention Anne Boleyn, played by Claire Foy. Honestly, Anne was my least favorite character, both in the books and the mini-series. This version of her comes across as petty and arrogant, to the point where I found myself wondering what Henry could see in her. That said, she does become more sympathetic in the last two episodes, as her imminent end comes closer and closer.

Wolf Hall is not a series for the impatient viewer, much like its protagonist it takes its time to achieve its goals. Despite the somewhat slow pace, I was never bored watching the show. My only quibble with it is a certain scene: At one point, Cromwell witnesses a play in which his late patron, cardinal Wolsey is carried off to hell by demons. Cromwell silently swears vengeance against the people involved in the play. The scene itself is fine, its the way the show keeps returning to it that I have issues with. Showing the scene once or twice to make sure that the viewer remembers why Cromwell is persecuting these men is fine, but after awhile I found it repetitive. I get it, move on.

As I said though, this is a fairly minor complaint. As a whole, Wolf Hall is an excellent adaptation of Mantel's novels and something that I recommend to anyone who wants to watch a well-made historical mini-series in the vein of I, Claudius and the like.

Bacchus vol. 1 & 2

Ever since I got my Ipad mini, I've started to buy a lot of my reading material in digital format. Of course, I still enjoy physical copies of books, but there's no denying that the digital format has its advantages. For example; it takes up a lot less space when you travel, for one thing. Which brings us to the subject of this post, Top Shelf Productions recently published the entirety of Eddie Campbell's comic Bacchus in five digital volumes. Bacchus is one of those comics that I had heard about for years, but for some reason I had never gotten around to read it, until now that is. So, pour yourself a glass of wine and let's dig into the first two volumes (which collects volume 1-4 of the comic's original run) of Eddie Campbell's Bacchus.

I guess I should begin by telling you what its all about. As you have no doubt guessed from its title, Bacchus stars Bacchus a.k.a. Dionysus, the Greek god of revelry and his adventures in the present day era(present in this case meaning the 1980's which is when Campbell created the comic). Bacchus himself is one of the last remaining gods of the Greek pantheon, the majority of it being long since dead. Bacchus himself is far from the handsome youth he once was, the gods may age slower than mere mortals and after 4000 years, time has begun to take its toll on him. When we first meet the aging god, he's in a jail cell having been arrested for being drunk and disorderly. His neighbor in the other cell  comments that he looks a bit too old for that kind of behavior, which leads to the following exchange:

Bacchus: Does four-thousand years sound old enough?
Guy: Four-thousand years? Jesus Christ.
Bacchus: Who?
(Beat)
Bacchus: That was my little joke.




I just love that bit, it does a great job at introducing us to the comic's titular character and what sort of person he is. Anyway, Bacchus is soon released, thanks to one of his few remaining followers, Simpson, paying the bail. From there on out, Campbell introduces the reader to a host of memorable characters. Aside from Bacchus and Simpson, we also get to meet the former's antagonist, Joe Theseus (yes, the guy who killed the Minotaur). Unlike Bacchus, Theseus knows the secret of immortality, which was given to him by his father, Poseidon. Theseus have since spent his time building a financial/criminal empire. There's also the Eyeball Kid, who is perhaps the weirdest character in the entire comic. The grand-son of Argus of the 100 eyes, a few centuries before the comic began, the Eyeball Kid managed to steal the power of Zeus and used it to kill all the gods on Mt. Olympus, except for the few who had moved out, like Bacchus and Hephaestus. Although insane and not all that bright, the Eyeball Kid is nonetheless the most powerful being in the World. Naturally, it doesn't take long for him to become the target of people who wants the power of Zeus for themselves.

Other characters include Chryson, the god of capitalism, who, from what I can tell, serve as the comic's main villain. Hermes, the ancient messenger of the Gods and of course, all the ordinary men and women who inevitably get caught up in the petty conflicts of these ancient gods, heroes and monsters.

Bacchus is the first solo comic of Eddie Campbell's that I've read. Prior to it, the only work of his I was familiar with was From Hell (a.k.a. the best thing Alan Moore's ever written). With Bacchus, Campbell has proven himself in my eyes as being just as talented a storyteller as he is an artist. Tapping into the rich vein that is Greek mythology, Campbell has created a great narrative populated with a colorful and engaging cast of characters. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the rest of Bacchus (as well as some of the other comics from Campbell's pen) and encourage anyone with an interest in great comics to do the same.
Cheers!

Top 25 Animated Shows

Seeing as how I do love to make lists and also love a good animated series, I thought I'd smash two birds with one stone and present to you, dear reader, what I consider to be my top 25 animated shows, both old favorites and more recent discoveries. "Why, 25?" You ask. Well, it seemed like a good number. that's really the only explanation I can offer. Before we begin though, there are a few things I'd like to point out:

First of all, this list is based purely on personal opinion. The shows that you'll find on this list are all shows that appeal strongly to my own tastes and sensibilities when it comes to writing, characterization, visual design and all that other jazz.

Second of all, this is by no means a definitive list. No list really can be, because its impossible for one person to have watched every animated show out there. I'd also like to point out that these are not all the animated shows I love, but they will do for now.


Now then, let's get started, shall we? Number 25 is....


25. Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc.

I'm just going to repeat what I've said about this show before: Mystery Inc is Scooby Doo for those of us who like our cartoons to have an on-going plot and character development. The early episodes dragged a bit, but once the show's main villain got introduced it turned into a great cartoon that constantly raised the stakes, until it culminated in an actual apocalypse. It also managed to be genuinely creepy at times, which is not something one often expects from a franchise whose rogue's gallery tend to consist of people in Halloween costumes.

24. Over the Garden Wall

This show isn't even a year old and yet when I finished the last episode, I knew I had another show to add to my list of favorites Over the Garden Wall is a fairy-tale strongly influenced by the works of the Fleischer Brothers. Its whimsical and fun one second, only to turn dark and sinister the next. It features great voice-acting, courtesy of Christopher Lloyd and Elijah Wood, among others and some truly catchy songs. I also like the fact that its a mini-series, animated mini-series tend to be rare in western animation. Hopefully, Over the Garden Wall will pave the way for more brilliant animated mini-series of the same ilk.

23. The Spectacular Spider-Man

The best superhero-cartoon since Batman: TAS. Greg Weisman and co, gave us truly excellent versions of Peter Parker, his friends, family and rogues'-gallery. Not much to say about Spectacular, except that it was brilliant. To bad it got cancelled after two seasons and we got Ultimate Spider-Man instead.

22. Ashita no Joe

The oldest show on this list, Ashita no Joe (or Tomorrow's Joe, if you prefer) is a legendary anime and for good reasons; following Yabuki Joe's career in the boxing-ring as well as his personal growth as person is fascinating. Add to the fact that the anime was directed by Osamu Dezaki, one of my favorite anime-directors and you have a series that can only be described as a K.O.

21. Mushi-Shi

My favorite purely episodic anime (even Bebop had sort of an on-going storyline with the whole Spike-Julia-Vicious thing, even if it was only relevant in a few episodes). No other series on this list does atmosphere and mood as well as Mushi-Shi and its easy to get sucked into the world of the Mushi and the people they influence. Can't think of much else to write about Mushi-Shi, its really one of those shows that's best experienced first-hand.

20. Paranoia Agent

The body of work left behind by the late Satoshi Kon may have been small, but its quality can not be disputed. My personal favorite of Kon's work is Paranoia Agent, his only series. At its core, Paranoia Agent is basically a morality-tale about taking responsibility for one's actions, but its also a great mystery in the vein of David Lynch, filled with memorably weird imagery and characters. Never has cute little plush-dogs been so creepy.

19. Ping Pong the Animation

I've become quite a fan of Masaaki Yuasa's work lately, so it's only natural that a few anime directed by him will appear on this list, Ping Pong the Animation being the first. Out of all Yuasa's shows, Ping Pong is easily the one that's most grounded in real-life; there are no time-loops or other fantastic concepts to be found here. That's not to say that Ping Pong is boring though, far from it! The various ping-pong matches are both well-animated and full of intensity as well as great vehicles for exploring the characters and their motivations. I haven't seen all that many sports-themed anime, but out of the ones I have seen, this is my favorite.

18. Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Wow, this show really moved down. It wasn't that long ago that Legend of the Galactic Heroes would have been in the top 5 on a list like this, maybe even number one. So, why its relatively low placement this time around? Well, chalk it up to the fact that the shows that appear below is much fresher in my mind, not to mention the fact that I don't know when or if I'll ever get around to re-watch it (its a really long show that takes awhile to get going). That said, Legend will always have a place among my favorites, for being one of the best space-opera's I've seen in any medium. Its a huge, sprawling epic with a cast that numbers in the hundreds and I'm glad that I watched it at least once, you should too.

17. Bakemonogatari

The latest addition to my favorites, Bakemonogatari is probably the most verbose show on this list (the only competitor is another show from the same creator). Your average episode of Bakemonogatari consists mostly of characters talking and talking and talking some more and frankly, its easy to see how that could turn some people off. That's a shame though, since Bakemonogatari some really memorable characters and is pretty great to look at as well. I also enjoy the matter-of-fact way the show deals with all the supernatural stuff. Put simply, Bakemonogatari is just a great work of magic realism and I'm looking forward to eventually tackling the rest of the Monogatari series as well.

16. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

Much as I love dark, dramatic works, there's something to be said for a show that's just plain fun and Friendship is Magic, the latest installment in the otherwise largely unremarkable My Little Pony franchise is definitely such a show: It has good action, is genuinely funny and features a group of engaging and likable protagonists. Its one of those cartoons that I can watch, confident that it will bring a smile to my face. In short, its a great show and one that's definitely worthy of being among my favorites.

15. Adventure Time

Count me in the category of people who prefer the later seasons of Adventure Time to the early ones. Not that the early seasons were bad or anything, far from it, but I do feel that the show went from decent entertainment to truly great once the writers started fleshing out the world of Oo and its various inhabitants. The Ice-King is arguably the best example of this, as the show took what had started out as a pretty standard, inept kid's show villain and turned him into one of the most tragic characters in animation. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever be able to look at the Cheers theme in the same way again.

14. Avatar: The Last Air-Bender

The best thing to come out of Nickelodeon by a wide mile, in my opinion. To be honest, this is another show that I have trouble writing much about, mostly because I'm going to assume that if you are reading this, than you have most likely seen it already. In case I'm wrong and you haven't, I suggest you rectify this immediately. Avatar: The Last Air-Bender features excellent world-building and characterization and is easily one of the best epic fantasy-series ever made, animated or live-action.

13. Steven Universe

I didn't put Steven Universe on my list of best animated shows 2009-2014, for the simple fact that at the time I felt that I needed to see more of the show before I formed a somewhat qualified opinion on it. Having now caught up with all the episodes available, I can easily say that this is among the best cartoons I've seen: Steven himself is one of the more likable kid-protagonists I've seen, the Crystal Gems are all pretty cool and the family-dynamic between them is really well-handled. Like Adventure Time, the show starts out fairly simple yet entertaining and eventually goes into deeper territory as more is revealed about the nature of the Gems and their back-story. Plus, I've got to appreciate a kid's show that contains references to Revolutionary Girl Utena.

12. Gravity Falls

The first Disney cartoon on this list (I bet you can guess the second one). Unlike some of the other shows here, which took awhile before they really clicked with me, Gravity Falls had me hooked from the start. Its one of the best paranormal mysteries/conspiracy shows I can think of and out of all the shows on this list, is probably the one that I'm most excited to see what will happens next in.

11. Batman: TAS

Still the gold-standard for superhero-cartoons in my opinion. Batman: TAS planted the seed for the entire DC Animated Universe and raised the bar for action-oriented animated shows to new heights. To this day, this show features my favorite depictions of Batman, The Joker and Gotham City in any medium. Its also a relatively rare example of a cartoon from my childhood that I actually like even more today.

10. Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is just plain cool. A lot of 90's anime can appear dated when watched today, but Bebop has a certain time-less quality to it. It has a great characters, an outstanding soundtrack by Yoko Kanno and just oozes style. Even if you're not an anime fan I definitely recommend giving Cowboy Bebop a try, you won't regret it.

9. Katanagatari

Katanagatari is another show from the creator of Bakemonogatari and it shares the latter's verbosity and appealing visual-design. However, the differences between the two are, I feel, greater than the similarities. Whereas Bakemonogatari takes place in the present, Katanagatari is set in the distant past and while Bakemonogatari featured several story-arcs, this one keeps it focus on a single plot throughout its run. And what a story it is, I had a great time following Shishika and Togame on their quest to collect the twelve deviant swords and it was always interesting to see what sort of opponent they'd come up against next, as was the growth they underwent during the course of the show's twelve episodes. Special mention goes to the final episode which is one of the most emotionally gripping I've seen in recent memory.

(On a sidenote: I'd like to do a shout-out to Bobduh of Wrong Every Time, whose excellent essay on Katanagatari convinced me to give a show a try. Bob, in case you're reading this; thank you).

8. Kaiba

The second Masaaki Yuasa anime on this list. The first half of Kaiba calls to mind the classic children's book The Little Prince, with the main character travelling to various planets and encountering their inhabitants. Although, it should be pointed out that Kaiba features a lot more violence and sexually active characters than Saint-Exupéry's opus. Taking place in the distant future, in which memories can be bought and sold, Kaiba is a great science-fiction story and one of the best short anime I've seen.

7. The Rose of Versailles

As great as Ashita no Joe is, The Rose of Versailles in my opinion, is Osamu Dezaki's master-piece. Its often melodramatic as all get out, but the melodrama actually works, since its very easy to imagine the french aristocrats acting in that way. The show also does a good job at highlighting the differences between the petty schemes of the nobility and the much more important concerns of the french people at the time. Plus, The Rose of Versailles features one of the most charismatic, badass and awe-inspiring protagonists I've seen in Oscar Francois de Jareyes. As Axel von Fersen says to her at one point in the show: "Oscar, you are manlier than a man." Truer words were seldom spoken.

6. The Venture Bros.

Ah, my favorite animated comedy-series. The Venture Bros started out as a parody of boy-adventurers in general and Johnny Quest in particular, but has since evolved into something much more than that; featuring character-development and story-lines that the things it started out parodying could only dream of, while still being genuinely funny. Make no mistake, The Venture Bros main theme may be failure, but the show itself is definitely not a failure at all.

5. Gargoyles

Not only my favorite Disney animated show, but my favorite non-anime cartoon as well (from here on out, its all Japanese stuff, folks). Among the shows to come out from the House of Mouse, Gargoyles is quite unique, Greg Weisman created a universe filled with everything from gangsters to cyborgs to magicians and blended them all together. Add some great characters, including some of the most interesting and well-developed villains ever seen in a cartoon, more Shakespeare-references than you can throw a skull at and you have an absolutely amazing series that belongs on any best animated shows list.

4. Gankutsuo: The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas is, of course, one of the all-time greatest revenge stories and this anime is hands down my favorite adaptation of it. Despite taking place in the distant future and featuring both giant robots and demonic possession, Gankutsuo manages to capture the spirit of the original novel better than any other version I can think of. The Count himself is charismatic, manipulative and completely merciless in his quest for revenge, as he should be and while I didn't care much for his character, I do think the decision to make Albert the protagonist instead of Edmond was an interesting one, since it adds an aura of mystery and terror to the story: Just who is this guy who worms his way into the lives of these families? What is his deal? In some ways, Gankutsuo actually improves on Dumas' work. For example, I never found Franz d'Epinay all that interesting in the original novel, but here he soon became one of my favorite characters. In short, Gankutsuo is easily one of my favorite adaptations of a literary classic in any medium.

3. Tatami Galaxy

It was a hard decision to choose between this and Kaiba, but for now I'd say that Tatami Galaxy is my favorite anime-series from Yuasa. The main character of Tatami Galaxy lives through several different time-lines and in each one he tries to have the perfect college-experience ("the rose-colored campus life") as he calls it. Naturally, he never achieves this goal, at first it seems like the blame for this should be laid entirely on Ozu, the protagonist's impish friend, but it gradually becomes clear that things are not quite so simple. Tatami Galaxy is fantastic; its funny with hilarious rapid-style narration from the main character and it takes full advantage of its alternative time-line gimmick to show different aspects of its cast and of course, like everything else Yuasa has done, it looks great.

2. Princess Tutu

Well, this is unexpected. Some of you may recall that the last time I mentioned Princess Tutu, I said that I gave up on the show because I found it to repetitive. When I wrote those words, it had been a few years since I had watched it and having recently read some really glowing remarks on it from some people on the internet whose opinion I've come to respect (such as Jed A. Blue), I decided to give it another try.
I'm glad I did, because god-damn did this show turn out to be absolutely amazing after awhile. Do not let the title or the fact that the main character is an adorable talking duck fool you into thinking that this is going to be something light-hearted and cute. There's definitely humor in Princess Tutu, but there's plenty of dark and intense moments, especially near the end. Plot-wise, the main theme of Princess Tutu is one of fate and whether its pre-ordained or can be changed in some way: The characters are all trapped inside a story, some of them are aware of this, but most remain blissfully ignorant of their circumstances. The problem is that the author of the story is dead-set on ending the story on a tragic note and its this ending that the main character, Ahiru (=duck) and her friends are determined to change.
Among the show's many virtues, one must mention its first-rate characterization. In the beginning, several of the characters may come of as simplistic but they grow and become more complex as the story proceeds. A good example of this is the character of Fakir, who in the early episodes comes of as a cold-hearted jerk (there's a touch of the possessive abusive boy-friend about him in his interactions with Mytho), but of course, we learn that there's more to him than that.

To be honest, I consider Princess Tutu and the show that occupies the number one slot on this list, to be pretty near equal, which one is my favorite largely depends on what mood I'm in at the time.In short, Princess Tutu is a master-piece; it has pretty everything I want in a work of fiction.

I know what you're thinking (or at least I'll pretend to): "That's a lot of great cartoons, which one could possibly occupy the top-spot? Well, my friends, I shan't keep you in suspense any longer. Here's my number one animated show:

If it can not break out of its shell, the chick will die without ever being born.

We are the chick.

The World is our shell.

Smash the World's shell.

For the revolution of the World!

1. Revolutionary Girl Utena

No other animated show on this list. Indeed, no other animated show I've seen is as dense with symbolism and as open to interpretation as Revolutionary Girl Utena (although Mawaru Penguindrum, from the same creator comes close). It also tackles a lot of important and universal themes, such as; sexuality, gender-roles and growing up and does so with aplomb. Of course, that's all well and good, but what about what truly matters, story and characters? Thankfully, Utena excels at these things as well. The story of Revolutionary Girl Utena has pretty much everything; there's romance and drama, tragedy and humor (the latter provided chiefly by Nanami, one of the great comedic characters of Japanese animation). There are sword-fights, as exciting as any I've seen, as well as conspiracies and intrigue galore. It also sports the best soundtrack I've heard to an animated series. Yes, better even than the one to Cowboy Bebop.

Above all though, Revolutionary Girl Utena features a cast of characters as rich as any I've seen in a work of fiction. Chief among them is Anthy Himemiya, one of the most baffling and ambiguous characters I've encountered, but Utena herself, the tough-as-nails Juri, the diabolical Akio and the rest certainly deserves a mention as well.

Make no mistake, I treasure each and every show on this list. When I choose Revolutionary Girl Utena as my number one, its not only because of its undeniable qualities, but also because it manages to appeal to my own tastes and sensibilities in pretty much every single way. There's not much else I can say about it, except that I'm proud to name it my favorite animated show.

*****

Well, that's it ladies and gents. I'd like to thank all the people who worked on these marvelous shows that have provided me with so many hours of entertainment. I'd also like to thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me to the end. Hopefully, I've made you interested in watching some of these shows, if you haven't already and if that should be the case? Well, why not watch them again? They're certainly worth it.

Oh, and please feel free to tell me how wrong my choices were in the comment section. Or, you could provide your own list, perhaps there's something on there that I'm not familiar with?

Farewell, Sir Terry

As you no doubt already know, Sir Terry "Pterry" Pratchett passed away recently and like so many others I find myself saddened by the loss of a great storytellers. Sir Terry's work was, and is, a huge influence on me, with his Discworld books, he created a rich fantasy-world filled with unique and memorable characters and although it has been awhile since I last read anything by him, works such as Small Gods, Night Watch, Hogfather and others ensures his place among my favorite creators of fiction.

Sir Pterry, for the many hours of joy you've brought me over the years, I thank you.

Digger

As an avid comic-reader, one of the things I love the most about the internet is the sheer amount of comics available on it, that one can read for free. Granted, there's a lot of crap out there, but also several gems: Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Sidell, Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, The Desert Peach by Donna Barr (which wasn't originally a webcomic, but since its creator has put it online, I've decided to include it here), among others. That said, if I had to choose my favorite webcomic, I'd have to go with Digger by Ursula Vernon, and since I recently re-read the whole thing, I figured it would be a good subject for my latest review.

So, what's Digger about? Well, its about our titular heroine, Digger-of-Unnecessarily-Convoluted- Tunnels of Clan Quartzclaw, or Digger for short; a wombat, who one day finds herself stranded in a far-away valley, populated by a variety of creatures. Digger only wants to find a way back home, but of course, she soon find herself mixed up in the local problems. Problems which are far older and greater than she could imagine...

The first thing about Digger that deserves mentioning is the world-building: The setting created by Ursula Vernon is a rich and varied one filled with all manners of creatures. The various factions that inhabit the world of Digger are well-fleshed out, from  the guardians of the temple of Ganesha, to the matriarchal hyena-tribe; their culture, beliefs and mythology are all revealed to the reader as the plot of the comic grows deeper.

On the character-side, Digger's down-to-earth personality, her sarcasm and her sense of compassion and responsibility makes her a very likable heroine whom its easy to root for. She's surrounded by a strong cast of supporting characters, each one memorable in their own way. I feel that out of all characters, Ed deserves a special mention though. Ed is a male hyena who Digger encounters early in the comic and while according to Vernon herself, he was originally only intended to be a monster that tried to eat Digger, but he ended up being the most fleshed-out (and also universally beloved) member of the entire cast.

On the artistic side of things, Digger is drawn in very appealing black-and-white art. The comic that most came to mind when I was reading Digger was Bone by Jeff Smith (speaking of which, I really should pick up that omnibus which collects all of Bone in a single volume one of these days). However, Vernon varies her art-style from time to time. For example; one character's back-story is drawn in a style similar to cave-paintings and so on.

Digger can be found here and I strongly advise anyone with a working internet connection to read it; its a great story  populated with a vast array of memorable characters, plus it dispenses valuable advise. For example:

Words to live by. Until next time, dear reader.

District 14, Season 1

Every once in a while, I come across a work of fiction that I can't help but gush about in a shamefully fan-boyish fashion, while at the same time I also can't help but feel a bit jealous of its creator(s), simply because its exactly the kind of work I wish I had come up with myself.
The french comic District 14 (or Cité 14 in original) written by Pierre Gabus, drawn by Romuald Reutimann and published in English by Humanoids, is exactly the kind of work I'm talking about.

Dear reader, welcome to District 14; a city-state populated not just by regular human beings, but also by anthropomorphic animals, aliens and even the occasional superhero. Our introduction to this bustling community comes through a newly arrived immigrant, an elephant, who has been forced to leave his homeland due to certain circumstances. Given the new name, Michael Elizondo (due to a linguistic misunderstanding), our pachyderm friend soon finds a job as an assistant and bodyguard to the investigative reporter, Hector  McKeagh. As the duo chases after the next big scoop, they soon find themselves caught up in a mystery, one which will net them a bunch of powerful and ruthless enemies.

Gabus and Reutimann have created a very detailed, living world, populated by a rich and varied cast of characters. Gabus' writing does an excellent job at making each character seem as if he or she has their own elaborate back-story waiting to be uncovered. The plot is also well-told and grows more intricate, with many twists and turns, as it evolves. As for Reutimann's art, I can't think of much to say about it (you may notice that I don't talk a lot about the artwork when I review comics for some reason; mostly because I prefer to let the panels I post speak for themselves), except that I found it very enjoyable to look at and that it fit the story perfectly.

I should point out that by the end of the first volume/season a lot of questions regarding the plot remain unanswered. Without spoiling to much, I can however say that we get to learn why Michael had to leave his homeland, his real name and why he needs to drink that disgusting tea he's always brewing. A lot of the other plot-points will hopefully be answered in season 2, which I'm looking forward to read.

In case it hadn't been clear by now, I absolutely loved District 14 and urge everyone with an interest in quality comics to give it a try.