Graphic Novel Review - Swashbuckling Euro Style
The Scorpion Book 1: The Devil’s Mask, By Stephen Desberg & Enrico Marino, Cinebook
AS CHAOS fell upon the Roman Empire the leading families of its capital gathered, plotted and schemed to infiltrate the growing Christian faith and so hold onto their sundry seats of power. Come the Renaissance period opulence is a bishop’s accepted lifestyle, and who better to help perpetuate that egotistic folly than The Scorpion, a hunter of sacred relics... for a hefty price.
From the depths of long-forgotten catacombs or across the breath of a Mediterranean shore, a bony-finger that might have been some nameless saint or a bauble that was touched by a man who knew a men who knew Christ, promises adventure, mystery and plenty of danger, but it’s all worth the risk as far as The Scorpion’s concerned, and even more so for readers.
Errol Flynn fans rejoice. Those who bemoan that there has not been a decent play on the old Three Musketeers theme for a couple of decades; sit down and relax. We’re given The Sopranos of the eighteenth century, Tomb Raider with a twist, and a nod and wink to The Da Vinci Code, or rather its source material The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail as told during a confessional scene from The Godfather.
And more than that; it rocks!
Armando Catalano, otherwise known as The Scorpion because of the birthmark on his shoulder is a terrific, punning, sexy lead male with a devil may care attitude, but things are about to go awry for him...
Cardinal Trebaldi wants The Scorpion out of the way, and hires just the woman to achieve that, and she almost succeeds. But then brazen beauties, bitches, femme fatales, and innocents abroad merely decorate the heady spices of treachery and sword play in this grand feast of a tale.
Collecting the first two books originally published by Dargaud, there is little wonder that Cinebook's debut collection sold out and went to reprint soon after this review’s original appearance at The Birmingham Mail newspaper’s Speech Balloons, for in its 90 plus pages so much happens that readers are constantly on the edge of their seats or smiling contentedly at the style and grace in which Desberg lays down his story as they learn of Catalano’s birth and are kept waiting as deeds of the Templars unfold.
Marino’s art is a tour de force of excellent sequential choreography, but then he has a great lead character to animate through such scenes. His other characters are equally defined, with villains rendered classic and menacing while his women are never less than desirable. Not that he skimps on backgrounds; from lavish countryside backgrounds to papal ruins all are given equal measure.
This collection still has winner written on every page, do yourself and try and get hold of a copy before the latest English language print edition becomes a relic, albeit that, thankfully, the series itself appears to be ongoing.
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