Graphic Book Review:Zeus and the Rise of the Olympians

This article was first published at Blogcritics

Parents of superhero drenched comic book fans interested in introducing their children to something a little more culturally substantial may want to take a look at the latest volume from Campfire Graphic's Mythology series, Zeus and the Rise of the Olympians.  Much like the Classic Comics of old, Campfire's publications—novels, biographies, myths—hopefully build upon youngsters' interest in comic books to get them excited about more important literature.  Graphic versions of "the best that has been known and thought in the world" certainly can be one way to motivate interest in the original, and if they don't, well getting the story of Eros and Psyche or The Merchant of Venice from a graphic book, is clearly better than not getting it at all.

Taking the form of a teacher in ancient Greece telling her class the story of Zeus, Ryan Foley's version begins with the legend of the conquest of Ouranos by his son Chronus and the curse that Chronus will in turn be overthrown by his own child.  It describes how Zeus escapes the fate of his five siblings through the guile of Rhea and Gaea, and his eventual fulfilling the curse and imprisoning Chronus in Tartarus.  It is a story filled with fighting, treachery and monsters—much the kind of thing that should easily attract the imagination of any youngster enamored with the likes of Spiderman or the Green Goblin.  In fact, some parents may find it a bit too violent for their taste, so it would make sense to preview the material.  Violence is, of course, endemic to Greek mythology; still, this is not a book for young children.

Jayakrishnan's illustrations are in the best traditions of the superhero genre.  Comic readers will find themselves quite at home with his work.  His vision of the monsters in Pandemonium and Chaos at the very beginning is nightmarish, and his depictions of Brontes the Cyclops, the Hecatonchires (Hundred-handers), and Kampe (a she-dragon) are equally horrifying.  Truly it would be necessary to be a god like figure, if not a god yourself to defeat creatures of this sort.  The art work, often dark and grainy in some of the other Campfire editions, avoids the garish quality of some comics in favor of a grittier vision, a grit eminently suitable to the subject matter.

Like others in the Campfire series, Zeus and the Rise of the Olympiansbegins with a page introducing each of the major characters and ends with a page or two of general information on some topic that should be of interest to the young reader and perhaps spark further study.  In this case, there is some discussion of the Olympic Games, a bit about Greek architecture with examples from around the world, and some information about words derived from the Greek gods. 

Other books in the Campfire Mythology series that could be of interest are Stolen Hearts: The Love of Eros and Psyche. The Legend of Heracles, and Jason and the Argonauts. While there are some adaptations of mythological materials from other cultures in their catalogue I haven't yet seen them, but if they are as well done as the Greek myths, I would imagine they would warrant some attention.

Graphic Bios in Time for Black History Month

This article was first published at Technorati.

With Black History Month set to begin in February, parents interested in educational material for their children may want to take a look at two new publications in the Campfire Graphic Biography series.  Nelson Mandela: The Unconquerable Soul and Muhammad Ali: The King of the Ring, both written by Lewis Helfand, are aimed at the older child.  They focus on the biographical narrative to illustrate the importance of the men as dynamic leaders in the struggles of their people for equality and dignity as well as their contributions to the world community.  Both men are seen as inspirational figures. 

Nelson Mandela, illustrated by Sankha Banerjee, begins in 1985 with the future South African President in Pollsmoor Prison.  It then goes back to his birth in 1918 where he was given a name we are told is translated as "troublemaker."  It goes on to highlight his early life, his political involvement with the ANC, his years in prison, and his role in shaping the new society after his release and the end of apartheid. Unlike most Campfire editions, ninety percent of this book is in black and white.  It is only at the end when apartheid has been defeated that the story bursts out in color.

The Muhammad Ali biography, illustrated by Lalit Kumar Sharma, also begins in medias res, with the young Cassius Clay set to fight Cory Baker in 1958, before taking readers back to the boxer's childhood in Louisville, Kentucky.  It talks about his early career and explains how he was encouraged to adopt a gimmick—predicting the round he would knock out his opponent—to capture public attention.  It describes his embrace of the Nation of Islam, his championship fights, his refusal to be inducted into the army, and the stripping of his title.  It details his comeback and his public service throughout the world after retiring from the ring, ending with his award of the Presidential Medal of Honor.

Both editions include posters which can be detached from the book.  The Ali biography has an interesting feature on making graphic novels, and an appendix discussing the records some of the other boxers Ali fought and well as his daughter.  The Mandela biography's appendix is a glossary and a reprint of William Ernest Henley's "Invictus," a poem that Mandela looked to for strength during his darkest periods.

Graphic Novel Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This article was first published at Blogcritics

If graphic adaptations of classic literature are effective ways of introducing youngsters to the joys of reading, the Campfire Graphic Novel Classics Series offers a catalogue of literary gems likely to do the job. Not only have they chosen books with literary merit, like Frankenstein and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but they have chosen the kinds of stories that have traditionally been attractive to the young male reader. More often than not they are stories that focus on mystery or adventure; they are the world's great horror stories, the tales of the supernatural. These are the kinds of stories that have captured the young adult imagination, in most cases for over a century now.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1901 novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is one of the latest classics to be published in the series. Doyle who had introduced his brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet in 1887, had apparently killed him off when he and his arch enemy, Professor Moriarity, locked in mortal combat, hurtled over the Reichenbach Falls in a story called "The Final Problem." Public outcry however convinced the author to bring his hero back from the brink, and The Hound of the Baskervilles marked his return. Although it seems that Doyle always considered his Holmes stories less important that his other literary endeavors, few readers have agreed with him. In the supreme rationalist detective, Doyle has created the kind of archetypal character rarely managed by even the greatest of writers.

The Campfire adaptation by J. R. Parks is fairly straight forward, following the story line as closely as one would expect. It begins with the legend of the hound and goes on to explain how Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson become involved. It follows Watson, as Holmes sends him out to the moors ostensibly to protect Sir Henry Baskerville, the new heir to the Baskerville property. It makes sure to illustrate Holmes' legendary deductive powers as he glances at a threatening note Sir Henry received at his hotel. While the introduction of some of the characters seems abrupt, Stapleton for example, the narrative flows clearly and moves rapidly.

Vinod Kumar's Illustrations are typical of the Campfire style. Characters are drawn with an intensity that emphasizes strength rather than good looks. The women especially are not portrayed with the characteristic comic book glamour. Given some of the more recent manifestations of the great detective, Kumar's version of the iconic detective is quite traditional. Most of the time he appears with the trademark deerstalker and pipe, and, to my eye at least, he bears a remarkable resemblance to Basil Rathbone. Kumar's Dr. Watson, however, looks nothing like Nigel Bruce. I'm not sure that the images of some of the other characters are always those described in Doyle's story. The artist does manage to capture the dark sense of foreboding that dominates the atmosphere of the novel and its setting.

As with other Campfire editions, The Hound of the Baskervilles includes a short introductory essay on the life of the author. Although it doesn't go into some of the strange ideas that dominated the later part of his life, it does give some background about basis for the creation of Holmes, which is probably more to the point in this context. Since the story features a hound as a central plot point, an appendix discussing a variety of breeds of dogs called "Collectible Canines" is also included. While the specific breeds mentioned—Afghan Hound, Newfoundland, Komondor, etc.—seem to have little to do with the terrifying beast described in the story, the information may be welcome to dog lovers. Perhaps they could have found something more closely related to the story with a little more thought.