The Barefoot Serpent
By Scott Morse
Published by Top Shelf Productions
I went to a Steve Miller Band concert once where the opening act was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I still see them listed on concert tours so I guess there's an audience for Mr. Fleck and his colleagues, but I was unfamiliar with them at the time I went to that concert lo these many years ago, and I was eager for them to get off the stage and let Steve Miller come on and do songs I actually, y'know, liked.
So after Bela and the boys got done with their 40-minute-or-so set, the lights went down, blah blah, and Steve Miller took the stage. He did two or three of his appealing '70s stoner rock tunes and then invited Bela Fleck and the Flecktones back on the stage. And they did some more of their songs. I was really annoyed. This wasn't what I was paying for at all. I don't know if Steve was being kind or lazy or what exactly was going on, but over a decade later I still get annoyed remembering that concert.
The Barefoot Serpent reminds me of that night, in a way. There are two stories here, one of which I like and one of which I found less appealing. The strange thing is that we get part one of the lesser piece -- a vague hagiography on director Akira Kurosawa -- then we get a lengthy and engaging story about a family vacationing in Hawaii -- then part two of the Kurosawa thing.
I guess if I cared about Kurasawa more I could enthusiastically recommend this -- but I've only seen one of his movies (Ran) and didn't really see what all the hubbub is about. Morse's story doesn't do anything to convince me of the error of my ways, instead providing a facile but well-illustrated look at the highlights of his life.
The other story is set in Hawaii, and would probably have looked great in colour. But even in black and white Morse manages to make this simple tale of a young girl and her family intriguing and layered. It's certainly the best reason to read the book.
I could be wrong, but I don't see any real thematic link between the two tales, or any real reason why one story comes between two parts of the other. Despite those reservations, the artwork is rich and may provide satisfaction enough to overcome what I see as the drawbacks of the book. Grade: 3.5/5