Despite plenty of spattered blood and armored warriors sporting the oversized thews of Conanlike barbarians, this fictionalized graphic rendition of Xenophon’s Anabasis fails to give the renowned retreat much life or drama—or even to tell a coherent story. The narrative of foot soldier Eustachius opens with the realization of the Greek mercenaries that they’ve been suckered into taking on the entire Persian army and then follows the core that survives the battle of Cunaxa (and the death of Cyrus, their employer) on its more than 1,000-mile march through hostile territory back to Greece. It is brought to grinding halts first by an overlong flashback to peaceful times and later by a lurid but superfluous dream. Not only does the soldiers’ relentless bickering form a distracting backdrop to the exhausting marches and costly battles, but much of the visual action is squeezed into small inset panels where it shares space with boxes of wordy dialogue and commentary. Furthermore the art looks sketchier in some panels than others, and the characters (particularly when their faces are obscured by wraparound helmets) tend to look alike. Fans of Frank Miller’s epic 300 (1999) may be lured by the similar title, but will come away disappointed. (Graphic novel. 12-15)
Pub Date: May 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-61-3
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
Though classified as a graphic novelist, Delisle has claimed territory all his own as a graphic-travel memoirist.
Insightful, illuminating memoir of a year under a totalitarian regime.
In 2005-06, Delisle (Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China, 2006, etc.) accompanied his wife, who works as an administrator for Doctors Without Borders, to the country recognized by the United Nations as Myanmar. The United States and other democratic countries, however, still call it Burma, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the military junta that seized power in 1989. As in the illustrator’s previous adventures in China and North Korea (Pyongyang, 2005), the focus is less on politics and more on the lives of the people he encounters—though such lives are profoundly shaped by politics. He comes to accept checkpoints and censorship as routine, and he does his best to find a suitable home, survive with intermittent electricity and Internet access and take care of his toddler son Louis, whose charm transcends cultural borders. The author also fears malaria, bird flu and poisonous snakes, though the DWB medical community provides more comfort than much of the Burmese citizenry enjoys. Delisle writes and illustrates a children’s booklet on HIV, an important contribution to a country in which heroin and prostitution are rampant. As in previous volumes, his eye for everyday detail combined with droll, matter-of-fact narration humanizes his 14-month experience in a country that might seem traumatic, even intolerable, in other hands. “There were no demands and no uprisings either,” he writes. “Things are always very calm here, thanks to a regime that creates paralysis by fomenting fear on a daily basis.” The undercurrents of Buddhism throughout the book culminate in his visit to a temple, where his meditation proves transformative.
Though classified as a graphic novelist, Delisle has claimed territory all his own as a graphic-travel memoirist.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-897299-50-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2008
This slender graphic adaptation of the Great American Novel preserves some of Twain’s language, most of his plot and a good sense of his sardonic take on human society. Mixing dialogue balloons with enough boxed narrative to evoke Huck’s distinctive voice, Mann packs in all of the major incidents and tones down at least some of the violence—the two con men are only “punished” here rather than specifically tarred and feathered, for instance. Similarly, though Huck gets viciously slapped around by his father in the pictures, in general there isn’t much other blood visible. The illustrator’s faces tend toward sameness, but Kumar populates his color art with strong, stocky figures, depicts action effectively and, by using irregular frames and insets, sets up an engrossing helter-skelter pacing. A good choice for readers who aren’t quite up to tackling the original, with perfunctory but well-meant notes on Twain’s life and the history of slavery in the United States. Co-published with its prequel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, adapted by Matt Josdal, illustrated by Brian Shearer (ISBN: 978-93-80028-34-7). (Graphic classic. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2010
ISBN: 978-93-80028-35-4
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
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