Titan Comics 2016
Written by Jean-Francois Di Giorgio
Illustrated by Frederic Genet
Coloured by Delphine Rieu
Lettered by Cat Connery
Now that he has met his brother, Takeo is surprised to find that while he may have chosen the path of the Samurai, Akio is a much more complicated character, prone to tricks, games, and shady behavior. Under all his bravado, though, lurks a noble heart that wishes to restore his family honor. Before that can happen, though, Takeo must find a way to rescue Akio from the hot water he’s in, which may prove to be the final straw for the young warrior... unless Akio can finally come clean about their past.
I think this is an absolutely amazing series from the first arc into this one never have I felt as immersed in a land, culture or the characters lives as I do when reading this. Partly because of the stunning interiors but mainly because of the way Jean-Francois writes this. I can almost feel what it’s like to be there with these characters and feel the frustration of Takeo as he has to be the grown up around the other two.
Akio is as shady as they come and you can’t help but wonder how much he’s using his brother to his own advantage. He’s very much an opportunist and willing to do whatever he pleases when it pleases him and that’s so much the opposite of Takeo. While they make a delightful odd sibling pairing the bonds of family are here even if stretched to the breaking point. It doesn’t help that Akio has a price on his head either and one he has to tell Takeo about this issue or those bonds of brotherly love will snap.
The amount of characterisation that we get amidst all the plot advancement and inner workings of those who would use the trio for their own needs is astonishing. With Takeo finding a love interest and the boys being used by the Monks, nudged or coerced, towards doing some dirty work for them that would not be appreciated by Buddha not to mention those on the hunt for Akio there’s so much going on here and yet nothing feels rushed or haphazard. There’s a great symmetry to the writing as it’s presented to us. The balance of all angles while seeming precarious work extremely well.
Frederic and Delphine are extraordinary together. You can almost feel the wood beneath your sandals or the heat of the fire coming from that sword as it’s forged. The clean fresh air and scent of water as it cascades down the waterfall it’s all around you the scent of sweat and blossoms distracting you from what’s happening. The attention to detail here especially when it comes to the backgrounds really does transport you to a time and place you long to visit and immerse yourself in. The use of page layouts with angles and perspective control the flow of the story beautifully. They utilise every aspect of their work to bring you this emotion experience here.
The respect, awe and love of what these folks do is clearly evident on every page and every word. While i’ve only seen these on the computer I can only imagine how much better it would look on the page. This is a world where you long to be and sad when it’s time to leave.