Sundiata: A Legend of Africa
By Will Eisner
Published by NBM
Will Eisner is aiming to appeal to African-American readers with this graphic novel, but it's a parable with universal appeal that would make a fine gift for younger readers. It also serves as a powerful reminder for older readers of how much Eisner's talent has continued to grow as he continues to refine and redefine his contributions to the artform that he has already given so much to.
Over the course of its 32 pages, this hardcover graphic novel tells the tale of Sundiata, a crippled young boy who rises up to defeat a dominating king, in an age-old tale of underestimating the powerless at the risk of (deservedly) losing everything. A grinning gray rock is the key to the tale, and lends it much of its mythic feel. Eisner gives equal time in his translation of an African folk tale to Sundiata and Sumanguru, the evil king he opposes.
The climactic battle between the two is particularly impressive, with hordes of soldiers meeting across a scarred and smoking battlefield, but visually the entire book is lovely to look at, with Eisner utilizing pen, pencil, ink and watercolour to establish both the tone and setting of the tale, and ground it firmly in the realm of legend. Grade: 4/5
Cities of the Fantastic: The Invisible
Frontier
By Francois Schuiten and Benoit Peeters
Published by NBM
A surreal and otherworldly story of tradition and the relentless destruction of same by the steamroller of progress, Cities of the Fantastic: The Invisible Frontier is the story of a beginning cartographer named Roland who is taken in as something of an apprentice on a staggeringly complex project involving a three-dimensional map. Roland is just beginning to understand the scope and scale of his chosen vocation when new technologies threaten to reduce the cartographer's art to mere science. It's a metaphor with subtle implications for just about any longstanding tradition you'd care to apply it to.
Probably the most striking thing about this graphic novel is the visual depiction of Roland's new surroundings. Vast cityscapes remind me of visual images from Orson Welles's The Trial, as perhaps re-interpreted by David Lynch. Mapmaking is the major visual motif, carrying over even into the colouring of the story, an antiquated palette that gives the reader a strong sense of joining Roland as he immerses himself in the history and traditions of map-making.
This is the first part of a two-part novel, and it ends with Roland meeting a beautiful young woman and discovering a mystery. It will come as little surprise that the two are closely intertwined, but you may be surprised by how compelling the mystery is. Like a good map, you're going to need to look at it closely to really understand where it, and you, are going. Grade: 4.5/5