🚀 go-pugleaf

Reviewed this time around:

MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #21: MARADA THE SHE-WOLF
THE TOWERS OF BOIS-MAURY #1: BABETTE
TORPEDO 1936 [BOOK 1]

Ratings for the comics reviewed are as according to the new, improved, lemon-
freshened Mad Armenian Scale.

"For a critic, it's better to have wrong standards than none at all."

						-- Elmer Allyn Craft

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|>A< Nirvana. As R. Fiore (COMICS JOURNAL) would say, "Don't hold your breath."|
|>B< Sex is still #1, but sliced bread is definitely in trouble.               |
|>C< Now, *that's* entertainment!                                              |
|>D< Better than being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.                    |
|>F< Please pass the sharp stick.                                              |
|>Z< Better dead than read.                                                    |
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MARADA THE SHE-WOLF	[Marvel, graphic novel #21, $5.95]	C+

	The Marvel graphic novel series has been a mixed bag. Some of them
have been just plain bad, some of them have been fairly good as stories,
but lousy as graphic novels, and a fortunate few of them have been both
good as stories *and* as graphic novels. MARADA is just such a *rara avis*.
It's a collection of two stories that were serialized in EPIC MAGAZINE a
couple of years ago, by Chris Claremont and John Bolton.
	Claremont can write well, when he sets his mind to it, and Bolton
is one of the finer artists to show up in the last few years (on *these*
shores, at any rate). I was quite disappointed by the work they did on
last year's Epic series THE BLACK DRAGON, but the Marada stories show off
their talents well. The original serials were in black & white, but Bolton
does a magnificent job of painting them for this appearance. While I don't
see anything wrong with black & white, I must confess that the color adds
a nice dimension to these stories.
	For those completists among you: there are some additional panels
in the graphic novel that weren't in the original serials, but nothing
significant. Unfortunately, the graphic novel does not contain the cover
from the first serial installment, nor the splash page from a later in-
stallment. Either one would have made a fine frontispiece, and it's a
shame that they were left out. And there still is another color Marada
story from EPIC left to reprint sometime.
	Without hesitation, I say that this is worth the price.


THE TOWERS OF BOIS-MAURY #1: BABETTE	[Titan, graphic novel, $3.95]	D+

	This is a new (in translation) series by European artist Hermann,
whose only other work I'm familiar with is a couple of graphic novels from
Fantagraphics called THE SURVIVORS, set in a post-holocaust western U.S.
If memory serves, he also is the craator of the French series LT. BLUEBERRY
published by Dargaud (publishers of Asterix).
	BABETTE is apparently set in medieval France and it focuses on two
characters whose paths cross. One is Germain, a mason who kills a knight
when the latter attempts to rape Germain's lady love, Babette. The second
is Sir Aymar de Bois-Maury, another knight who is visiting the kingdom where
Germain lives, and who ends up fighting a tournament that frees Germain
from prison. Of course, in exchange for his freedom, Germain is exiled from
the kingdom, and in his wanderings, he encounters and later joins, a trio
of thieves who masquerade as an entertainment troupe. It seems evident that
the paths of Germain and Sir Aymar will again cross in the future.
	I enjoyed this somewhat, though not as much as Hermann's SURVIVORS.
Part of the problem is that the story seems to ramble too much. It never
strays from its story, but it seems to take a long time to get a short
distance. And there are certain scenes that are not clear in what is happen-
ing. I'll give a guarded recommendation with my oft-used "if you're looking
for something different, you might want to try this". And it's not often
these days that you find a graphic novel for only $3.95.


TORPEDO 1936 [BOOK 1]	[Catalan, black & white graphic album, $8.95]	  B

	This graphic album (I don't call it a "novel" because it's really a
collection of a dozen 8-page stories) came out a little over a year ago, but
I never got around to picking it up until recently. What inspired me to do
so finally was the appearance of two of the stories in the latest two issues
of Continuity's ECHOES OF FUTUREPAST. TORPEDO is the creation of two Span-
iards: writer Enrique Sanchez Abuli and artist Jordi Bernet (though the
first two stories --- the ones reprinted in ECHOES --- were drawn by Alex
Toth). Put simply, this is a fine example of the potential of comics as a
story form.
	The protagonist (he's hardly a "hero"), Luca "Torpedo" Torelli, is
a mob hit-man. Now, usually in the case of a series about such a person, he
is shown as either turning on his bosses and becoming a good guy or his
opponents are shown as worse criminals than he is, so he seems like a good
guy in comparison. Neither is the case here. Torelli is a totally unsympa-
thetic scumbucket. He will not hesitate to kill his best friend or a priest,
he'll send his crony off to get the crap kicked out of him (or he'll do it
himself), and he forces himself on women. While he has some sort of a code
of ethics, it seems rather random and whimsical.
	What makes this remarkable is that regardless of the likability (or
lack thereof) of Torelli, or perhaps *because* of it, he is a fascinating
character. And it's this fascination with the character that makes this
book fascinating to read. It's gripping, it's violent, it's hard-boiled,
and I have nothing but praise for it. If you like crime fiction, this is
for you. I feel obligated to warn you that in addition to the violence,
there is quite a bit of nudity, sexual matter, and profanity, but such is
*not* gratuituous, as it is in the KELLY GREEN graphic novel series.
	There are times when I felt that the script was a bit weak, but I'm
not sure if it's part of the original, or a problem with the translation.
Since I speak Spanish, I would like some day to find the originals to this
to see how they read in their original language. It's interesting to note
that the versions of the two Toth stories that are reprinted in ECHOES OF
FUTUREPAST are very much overwritten --- I suspect that Neal Adams couldn't
resist putting in his two cents worth. Frankly, the sparser scripting in
the album works better (Adams, or whoever, also anglicized "Luca" into
"Luke"; I'm not sure why).
	As for the art, I confess that I don't think that the Toth stories
are among his best work. He always has a sparse, minimalist style that
works well, but here, I think he's too sparse. There seems to be an over-
abundance of white space. The real surprise is the work of Jordi Bernet. He
works in a style similar to Toth, but with a much richer tone and more
detail. It's sort of a Toth with a touch of Joe Kubert.
	I highly recommend this book. It's expensive, but worth every
penny of the price. I'm going for the second volume next.

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA)

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