Historical

The Flying Friar

I was meant to write about this last week, but I was extremely busy with life in general that I didn’t get a chance to hit all the reviews I wanted to get done. I’m pretty behind on my schedule but that’s life. Anyway I emailed Rich a while back and asked him if he had a pdf I could have in order to review. He was gratious enough to send me one before it all exploded and he’s got it up for sale on his site, if you can’t find it from a store near you. As I live in London and both Rich and I have the same comic book store (Gosh Comics) I was also able to nab a signed copy of the book on Saturday. Anyway lets get to the review of this graphic novella shall we.

The Flying Friar is a difficult book to review, mainly because I actually didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t recommended from anyone, I just liked the preview art that Rich was pimping and I’ve been reading Rich’s column for several years now (was a fan of All the Rage, back when he used to write that). He’s a Londoner and has always been very courteous whenever I’ve e-mailed. So he was going to be getting my money.

This is a historical book with a bit of a twist. Set in the early 1600 in Cupernito, Italy; the book chronicles the early lives of two young men, Lux Luthor and Joseph Desa. They meet under funny circumstances. Lux is bald due to a meteor (or something similar) hitting the village and is interested in flying. Joseph on the other hand is not what he appears to be. Yes the similarities between this story and the Superman methos don’t end there. Saying anymore however would ruin things.

Reading through the book I initially had the feeling that I didn’t have a clue as to where it was going. At first it seemed as though this was going to be a story for the second coming. Having recently finished a book set in 1666 recently I can see where Rich is coming with this. People back then were still waiting for the second coming as if it was going to happen any day now. Of course the year of the beast (apparently) didn’t get officially announced until 1649, but I’ve done no research in the matter so take that with a pinch of salt. Anyway that theory proved to be incorrect. As it turns out what I was reading was an interpretation or dramatisation or a story that tried to tell the life of Joseph Desa the Patron Saint of Aircraft pilots and travellers.

The artwork is provided by Thomas Nachlik, who is a newcomer to me at least. I’m not sure if this is his first work or if he’s a complete veteran and I’ve missed out on his work. He tells his story very clearly which is a very good thing, however I did feel that the art was a little sharp around the edges.

Part of me would love to say that this book is fantastic and that you have to pick it up, but unfortunately I can’t give it such a glowing endorsement simply because I don’t actually feel that way. This isn’t a slant on Rich’s story. He’s crafted a good yarn here, if the above meagre attempt at a description tickles your fancy definitely pick it up. For me however it didn’t really hit the right notes.

This is the first book that I review that’s not a graphic novel. It doesn’t have a spine on it, but that’s ok I think I’ll let him off just this once :). This is also the first book that I buy from Speakeasy Comics. The paper quality of the interior pages are thick and glossy so you know the guys aren’t skimping on the paper quality for their production values. I like that in a black and white comic book as it makes the blacks pop out.