Graphic Novel Review - Dragons Beware! - Jorge Aguirre

Graphic Novel Review - Dragons Beware! - Jorge Aguirre (Author) & Rafael Rosado (Illustrator)

Recommended for Older Children/Young Adult/Adults

I received a free of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks!

Young Claudette, her brother Gaston and Princess Marie set off on an adventure to retrieve her father Augustine's magical sword, Breaker, from the belly of the fearsome dragon, Azra. They'll face multiple foes along the way, including Marie's evil wizard grandfather, Grombach, and his army of gargoyles; will they find the sword and defeat the dragon, or will they meet their doom?

Well, I won't spoil it, but what I will say is you will laugh your arse off during their quest, because this is a fantastically funny fantasy graphic novel that I didn't want to put down. It's full of pop culture references, from a certain famous Marvel shield making a vomity appearance, to multiple Death Star attack run nods (yeah, I saw what you did, and I LOVED it), which gives it an edge of over other funny children's graphic novels that I've read recently. The humour is silly but witty, and with a nod to the audience that it knows full well it's being daft and doesn't care, and it's exactly the type of humour that I love in a book like this.

The illustrations are great, and they invoke fond memories of similarly-styled texts that I've read before (though I can't put my finger on which ones exactly at the moment) - all three of the main characters eccentricities are perfectly brought across, and to a very high standard.

This is the second book in the series (following Giants Beware!) and I'm certainly going to try and get hold of a copy. The library doesn't appear to have it, so both of these are going straight on my monthly requests for the librarians to order in, because I'll be pushing these at the new monthly comic book club that I'm hoping to set up.

Worth been checked out by all ages from about 7 upwards, and it's pushed into 5* territory by its pop culture references - seriously, if they aren't Death Star run references in the last battle then [insert forfeit but just don't make me do it].

5/5

Comic Book Review - Asterix and the Picts - Jean-Yves Ferri (Author), Didier Conrad (Illustrator) and Anthea Bell (Translator)

Comic Book Review – Asterix and the Picts

Recommended for all ages

This is a big moment for the Asterix series. For the first time ever, Albert Uderzo has handed over the reins to a new creative team, author Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrator Didier Conrad. This is both a very exciting and a very nerve-wracking development for several reasons. The first is the obvious worry of whether or not this new creative team can match the giddy heights that Uderzo and Rene Goscinny reached with the very best Asterix stories. Secondly, you’re unlikely to find a fan that doesn’t believe the books have gone a little downhill in recent times, so the chance to have some new direction is much the same as Disney acquiring the rights to Star Wars. It’s unfair to level too much criticism at Uderzo, who took over the writing side of the stories upon the death of Goscinny, because this wasn’t his role in the earliest and best years. Personally, I think he’s done a brilliant job keeping it going, with the exception of his last full Asterix publication, Asterix and the Falling Sky, which I have to say was one of the biggest disappointments and blights on a series that I love since the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

That’s a bit of a lengthy introduction to a general review, so it’s probably time for me to endeth the history lesson and get on with the main show. So, does this show the Asterix series back on track? In a word, yes, Definitely. It’s fun, full of adventure, and the new team have recreated that classic Asterix-humour perfectly, from the word play in the character’s names, to banter between them all. It’s also due, of course, to the translator (shouldn’t forget this with a foreign language to English book!) Anthea Bell, who has translated every Asterix book from the very beginning. This includes the names in particular, and there’s a wonderful running joke of ‘Mac’s’ throughout this story that continues her fine tradition.

In the story, a frozen Pict (MacAroon) washes up on the shores of the Gaulish village. Asterix and Obelix vow to return him to his village in Caledonia, and find out who was responsible for pushing him into the water in the first place. When they get there, they have to help stop the perpetrator from proclaiming himself King of the Picts, and find where his fiancé has been imprisoned. It feels just like a classic Asterix adventure, in the vein of Asterix in Britain (for obvious reasons), and it’s leaps and bounds ahead of Falling Sky (though that’s not hard).

Didier Conrad has recreated Uderzo’s drawing style faultlessly – there’s no way at all you could tell it wasn’t done by the original illustrator if you weren’t told beforehand. It’s a key factor to retaining the feel of the original books, and it further cements the fact that the series is in safe hands.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next instalment, and with a younger team (and fantastic translator!) overseeing the series’ future I hope we’ll see further books much more regularly. If you’re a big Asterix fan, this will restore your faith in the adventures of Gaul’s greatest heroes.

8/10