Ravenskull
Written by Christopher Vogler
Art by Elmer Damaso
Rated: Teen
Seven Seas, $10.95
I’m starting to see the Seven Seas strategy: They’re developing a whole line of manga that riff on timeless, or at least out-of-copyright, classics. We’ve already had Captain Nemo, which was a sequel to Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Destiny’s Hand, based on every pirate book ever written. Now they’re taking on knights in shining armor with Ravenskull, which is a manga sequel to Ivanhoe with a supernatural twist. How’s that for high concept?
Ravenskull grabs you from the very first page: The story opens with the hero looking up at the ax that is about to kill him. In that last split second, he glances over and sees his beloved, Rebecca, tied to a stake on a pyre. Cue the flashback: The narrator, Brian de Bois Guibert, is a Knight Templar who is smitten with the lovely Rebecca—but she has eyes only for Ivanhoe. Since Brian is telling the story, Ivanhoe is a clueless dolt, and much of the humor in this book comes at his expense. After lots of knightly action, Rebecca is accused of being a witch, and the king forces Brian and Ivanhoe into a duel to determine her innocence. Brian is fighting for the prosecution: If he dies, Rebecca lives; if he lives, she is burned at the stake.
The ax comes down. Brian is dead, and Rebecca is set free. She dashes into Ivanhoe’s arms, but then his fiancée shows up, in a perfect shoujo moment, and Rebecca gets the cold shoulder. At this point, toss out your Cliff’s Notes, because Ravenskull takes a sharp turn away from Ivanhoe and into manga territory. Rebecca journeys to the gates of Death and leads Brian back. They both return with supernatural powers, but as always, there is a price to pay: When they embrace, they are blasted painfully apart. The only thing that can free them from this wretched state is the talisman of Arbatel, which is in the possession of the legendary Hassan the Assassin. So off they go, accompanied by King Richard and Robin Hood, to find it. And we’re still only halfway through volume 1.
This brief description doesn’t begin to do Ravenskull justice. Vogler and Damaso pack a lot into this first volume: love, death, swordfights, ghost warriors, a fire-breathing monster, and plenty of sly humor. My one quibble, which I raise so often with Seven Seas, is paper quality. As attractive as the cover is, with its spot varnish highlighting the main characters, I’d rather they had put that money into upgrading the quality of the interior to something other than newsprint. On the plus side, the extras include extensive notes on the characters and their historical and literary forbears.
I’ve read that Seven Seas is interested in developing its properties for other media, such as movies. I can certainly see how Ravenskull, with its nonstop action and cast of famliar characters, would fit into that plan. Fortunately, it also makes for pretty good reading while we wait.
(This review is based on a complimentary copy supplied by the publisher.)
How does everybody feel about SS developing a line based on classics? I’d prefer the creator to come up with his own story, so that you get truly original unique masterpieces. Like >insert manga here
I think it depends on how well they do it, and I think they did it pretty well with both Ravenskull and Destiny’s Hand. Lots of people my age grew up reading those books, or more accurately the Classics Illustrated comics versions of them, and I enjoy the familiar settings and characters, but they definitely came up with some original ideas. And because they are working in a genre that is well known, they can have some fun with it. There’s definitely a bit of the Pirates of the Caribbean spirit in both books.
My posts are being cut off…
I read derivitive titles from Japan — i.e. Maison Ikkoku > Love Hina > Suzuka — but they manage to insert new ideas into the genre. So I know what you’re talking about. However it feels weird when it seems like the publisher dictates this to creative.
This is just a guess, from the consistency of the line and the comments at their panel at SDCC, but I think a lot of the editorial vision at Seven Seas comes from the top. Their style and subject matter is much more consistent than other houses. That may come in part from the fact that they started out producing all their own books, because their licensed properties are very different from their global manga.
And I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with having a strong editorial hand. The Nancy Drew books that I read as a kid, and that my daughter is devouring now, were written by different writers to an incredibly tight script, which even dictates the adjectives used to describe different characters. I don’t think Seven Seas is anywhere near that top-down. They clearly have some good writers and artists, and I think it’s more that they say, “Hey, you wanna do a book about knights?” and lay out some basic guidelines. Again, just a guess. I don’t think that stifles the writers’ creativity, necessarily, just channels it—which for some writers (myself included) actually makes for better work. It can also result in utter crap. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I’ve liked most of the Seven Seas books I’ve read. Of course, part of the formula is that they are aimed at younger readers, which is OK with me. I enjoy kid and YA manga. If you don’t, I’d stick to their licensed books.