Friday, April 14, 2006
The new issue of Rakan is now available from www.akcomics.com and it is amazingly good! The upward trend of the storytelling in this comic book over the last few months is continued with a first-class plot that has Rakan continuing his quest to find Reem, the long-lost daughter of his mentor, stolen by bandits in an earlier issue. He thinks he's found her but in fact, the mirage he sees is a beautiful (and I mean beautiful - these Arab woman are wow!) witch with a tragic past.
He helps to release her from her island prison by slaying the mythical snake monster - the louckachas! But is she all that she seems? Time will tell.
Daniel Brandao's artwork is full of depth and vitality, especially in the flashback scenes and the cultural base of 3000 years of Middle Eastern history from which the Middle East Heroes stable grows adds a complexity, sensuality and richness to the ongoing plot that leaves American comic books looking shallow, vacuously violent and really rather conservative.
The character of Rakan is loosely based on a real-life Arab hero at the time of the Crusades who was involved in battles against the Mongols, Persians and Crusaders. In some ways, he is out of step with the other Middle East Heroes who all operate in the near future after the 55-years-war that ends with the creation of a new society tolerant of all religions and cultures in the Middle East. It will be interesting to see whether the writers will at some stage will want or be able to reconcile the two different plotlines.
He helps to release her from her island prison by slaying the mythical snake monster - the louckachas! But is she all that she seems? Time will tell.
Daniel Brandao's artwork is full of depth and vitality, especially in the flashback scenes and the cultural base of 3000 years of Middle Eastern history from which the Middle East Heroes stable grows adds a complexity, sensuality and richness to the ongoing plot that leaves American comic books looking shallow, vacuously violent and really rather conservative.
The character of Rakan is loosely based on a real-life Arab hero at the time of the Crusades who was involved in battles against the Mongols, Persians and Crusaders. In some ways, he is out of step with the other Middle East Heroes who all operate in the near future after the 55-years-war that ends with the creation of a new society tolerant of all religions and cultures in the Middle East. It will be interesting to see whether the writers will at some stage will want or be able to reconcile the two different plotlines.
