Comics / European Comics

Niger #1

By Leroy Douresseaux
October 3, 2006 - 13:55

NIGER #1

 

FANTAGRAHICS BOOK/COCONINO PRESS

CARTOONIST: Leila Marzocchi

ISBN-13: 978-1-56097-811-4

ISBN-10: 1-56097-811-2

32-page  2-color saddle stitched 8 1/2” x 11", with jacket $7.95

 

Born in the depths of a lake, a new being named “Pupa” finds herself in The House on the Tree located somewhere in The Forest of the Burnt Spruce.   Watched over by a small company of birds, including the owls Momi and Tyto Alba and the chickadee, Gualtiero,   Pupa takes refuge in a glass on the tabletop.   The curious birds organize to protect her while she safely grows.

 

Niger #1 is an ecological fable from artist Italian cartoonist Leila Marzocchi (L’Enigma).   The art, done in woodcuts with shades of red, black, white, and gray for color, is perfect for this tale of a band of animals protecting a small, strange creature, which suddenly discovers that its journey to adulthood has now become an epic adventure.   Marzocchi, who once drew manga for Kodansha magazine, gives a sweetly dark magic to this anthropomorphic tale with her woodcut art.

 

Looking at this book, I’m once again delightfully surprised at the materials and media that can be turned into a comic book.   Like all of the Ignatz line (of which this is the 12^th book), Niger is a beautiful object and intriguing graphic narrative, with the former striving to be fine art and the latter on the way to being comic art.

 

7 of 10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12