Facing the wrath of the gods – a review of the comic book “Gilgamesh”

Luc Ferry is known and remembered as the originator and mentor of the Myth World series . The philosopher has delighted us many times. The studies at the end of each volume of the series are a real masterpiece, which distinguishes Egmont’s proposals on the comics scene. This time – Gilgamesh !

 

Like two drops of water

The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered one of the oldest works of world literature. The multiplicity of plot variants that have been combined in the reviewed volume is interesting. Ferry undertook a difficult task – by shortening the story and enriching it with the most important elements, he once again proved his talent and communication skills. Gilgamesh, the title character of the comic, is a powerful and proud king, two-thirds god, one-third human. His rule in the Sumerian city of Uruk is not accepted by the oppressed subjects – in despair after the loss of their sons and daughters, they decide to turn to the gods for help. These make up Enkidu, the wild counterpart of Gilgamesh, who is his complete opposite: he refuses to exploit people, he protects them, he strives for peace. When men take up the fight this quickly turns out to be impossible to settle – they are equally strong and fierce. So they become brothers, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, being aware of their own strength and the possibilities that the divine source gives them, they commit many acts that the gods do not like. They are severely punished for this – the gods send a deadly disease to Enkidu. After the death of his friend, a wounded and distraught Gilgamesh decides to go on a lonely journey to the only immortal man on earth, who is to help him calm his pain.

Aesthetically

The creators of the comic have already accustomed readers to scenes of nudity and eroticism. There are plenty of them here as well. In addition, in order to better illustrate the superhuman strength of the heroes, not only their clashes with wild animals were shown, but also with other heroes – equally strong (a severed head can be a dream at night …). All of these images seem unsuitable for sensitive readers, so if you fall into this group, I recommend choosing a different comic or skipping the graphic scenes. The comic book was written by Clotilde Bruneau, while the graphic layer was created by: Didier Poli (art direction), Pierre Taranzano (drawings), Stambecco, Filippo Rizzu – Arancia Studio, Gabriel Germain, Thomas Levadoux (colors) and Fred Vignaux (cover).

Not such a small work

The comic is divided into three parts. Each of them seamlessly connects with the next, and together they create a unified story. The covers introduce the reader to the individual parts. At the end of the volume, a scientific study was also attached, in which the philosophical aspect of the discussed myth and its significance for cultural heritage were analyzed in detail. An interesting fact for the owners of the series is that the creators decided to change the endpaper – characteristic of the story. I’m curious to see what the next one will look like!

Rating

So far in the series of Mythos, Antigone , Daedalus and Icarus , Iliad , Odyssey and Oedipus have been released . Reviews published on the portal confirm that currently there are no more interesting proposals on the market discussing known myths. I recommend Gilgamesh to both young people and adults. The depiction of myths in comic form will surely delight you!