Review
‘THE SWORD IS REDRAWN’ GN Review – Elric The Ruby Throne / Elric Stormbringer: Various (Titan Comics)
Day three of the graphic novel reviews a day and today it’s not one but two books. Elric The Ruby Throne and Elric Stormbringer are two hardcover books, published by Titan Comics, translating the French comic adaptations of Moorcock’s iconic fantasy books featuring arguably his most important creation.
The first book, The Ruby Throne, introduces us to the world of Melnibone and Elric and his duplicitous cousin Yyrkoon and writer Blondel with the significant assistance of artists Robin Recht and Didier Poli manage to distill the true essence of Moorcock’s creation. The world that Elric and co inhabit is a louche place inhabited with lords of chaos, vampires in all bit name and an empire at its sunset.
The Ruby Throne is a truly beautiful book which manages to be degraded and elegant at the same time. Stormbringer, the second book, is slightly marred by the fact that there are two art teams here (Julian Telo & Robin Recht and Didier Poli) and so, stylistically, it is a little bit jarring.
However both teams bring Moorcock’s worlds to life with rare style and pizazz. We have been treated to comic adaptations of Elric over the past few decades with some of the finest artists from American comics giving their take on the White Wolf but with the European sensibility from the art teams here, this feels the most faithful translation of Moorcock’s writing to the four-colour page. If you are a fan of Elric and sumptuous European comic art, then you need to pick this up…
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Guy Lawley
April 3, 2015 at 2:36 pm
As a Moorcock / Elric fan for over 40 years, I really liked the first book.
There were various liberties taken with the story but they mainly worked well.
Second volume… oh dear.
Far too far removed from the genuine character of our own dear Emperor of Melnibone.
SPOILER
ALERT
Elric as cold-blooded killer of a whole family of Young Kingdom folk?
No. Elric was keen to live with and learn from them. Part of his tragedy was that he was doomed to fail in that ambition.
Elric exiled from Melnibone against his will as part of Arioch’s plan?
No. Again this loses the aspect of Elric that positively wants to live in the YKs for a time.
There are numerous other criticisms I could make of vol. 2.
There are weaknesses in the art & storytelling, hardest to forgive being the appearance of Stormbringer itself and the way the runes light up red. It is sort of shown but only if you remember Moorcock’s descriptions from the books is it really clear.
Over all I am hugely disappointed.
If, as seems fairly likely, a TV series of Elric gets made, I hope they take no diabolical liberties of this order with the story.