In shallow waters – a review of the comic book “Barakuda” vol. 1-3

A black flag with a skull, an eye patch, a wooden leg or a talking parrot are symbols known to everyone. Meanwhile, very few cultural works can make full use of pirate legends and iconography. Over the years, only a few productions have achieved artistic and financial success and have become a permanent part of pop culture. This problem can be found in virtually every medium. Sid Meier’s Pirates has gone down in gaming history , but does anyone else remember Cutthroats and Corsairs ? The same goes for the later Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag , followed by mediocre Risen 2: Dark Waters or the recent Sea of ​​Thieves . Even Pirates of the Caribbean in the movie worldthey were unable to fully replicate the success of the first part, delivering increasingly diminished quality images. How is the comic book situation? One Piece leads here – Japanese production, embarrassing by the ingenuity and popularity of Western colleagues. Therefore, with curiosity, I reached for the title of the duo by Jean Dufuax (script) and Jeremy Petiqueux (drawings) to see what European artists have to say on this topic.

Live fast, pirate young

17th century, the golden age of pirates. The crew of the ship “Barakuda” led by Captain Blackdog terrorizes the Caribbean waters. The Spanish ship on which the Dona Emilia Sanchez del Scuebo and her family are sailing is falling victim to the black flag. She manages to survive in exchange for the location of her ancestral Kashar diamond, which is allegedly cursed. However, the corsairs did not return Emilia’s freedom; the woman, together with her daughter Maria and their servant Emilio, ends up at a slave auction. Woven into the drama is also Raffy, the son of the cruel Blackdog, who, wounded by Maria, stays on the island while his father goes out to get the cursed treasure.

Jean Dufaux spares no unpleasant experiences for his heroes – he seems to even take pleasure in their suffering, putting them in extreme situations. Maria, seeing her mother being forcibly stripped down at an auction, sheds her own clothes. The decision to show such a scene, most likely a teenage heroine, arouses my disgust. Especially since then there are scenes of flagellation, humiliation and rape. After the time jump (in the second volume), we see how it influenced the protagonist who marries her tormentor and turns into a cruel woman, ignoring the lives of others. I understand the need to show traumatic events to build the character of the characters, but the means used here are wrong.

The topic of Emilio is more interesting. To save his life, Dona Emilia disguises him in her daughter’s clothes. Something that was supposed to be only a temporary ruse (intended to confuse the pirates) awakens feelings in the boy that he did not expect. At a slave auction, he is bought by Sir Flynn, thus restoring his freedom. Nevertheless, Emilio decides to stay with his savior (which gives rise to their romantic relationship) and leads to the adoption of Emilia’s identity (in honor of Dona Emilia? What an Emiloception!). It does not suddenly make the hero (ka) more interesting, although the plot with a non-binary character should be praised.

Shallow

The same cannot be said of the portrayal of black people. These fit the stereotype of “wild”. Black pirates were nothing unheard of in the comic book era (they even appear in the background as a Blackdog crew). However, instead of showing this interesting aspect, Dufaux shows mainly African slaves (in straw clothes and with bone earrings, of course) who look demonic – inky skin and pupilless eyes. Their terrifying appearance is additionally emphasized by their function in history – executioners whipping Maria. The only free black hero usually speaks in the third person (like Sienkiewicz’s Kali) and his name is … Smoluch. The lepers, who only play the role of a kind of “freak show”, are similarly negatively presented in the comic,

It is sad that a relatively progressive approach to sexuality has been juxtaposed with the conservative influences of colonialism. I suppose that in the US the comic book would have met with huge criticism of such a racial representation, while in Europe, as you can see in this example, such motives are still acceptable.

Not enough water

For a story about sea wolves, there is surprisingly little… sea in it. Although the comic takes its name from the ship, the ship itself appears relatively rarely. The vast majority of the action takes place on the island of Puerto Blanco (which would be a more appropriate title). This is a minus for me, because it would be enough to change just a few small elements and the story could take place both in the Middle Ages and in the Wild West. There is not enough pirate element here.

I also have doubts about the pace of the narrative. Dufaux is able to focus on side characters in his comics, expanding their past in numerous flashbacks. The problem is that threads that are devoted to many pages can be ended fairly quickly (I will not go into spoilers, but I advise you not to get too attached to a quite interesting pirate named Morkam). At the same time, it takes pages that could have served the characterological deepening of Maria or Emilia.

Drawings

The graphic design does not stand out from other Francophone creations. The drawings are made very classically, and the characters are presented quite realistically – although you can also see the easy way here: the right characters are beautiful and smooth-faced, while the villains are ugly. It is also vain to look for fun with the frames – everything is drawn in perfect rectangles. Doubts are sometimes raised by the designs of the characters, in particular of Raffy, whose hairstyle resembles the early Tokio Hotel. All this has been kept in pastel colors, which is an unusual procedure, especially in combination with the gloom and brutality of some scenes.

The curse of pirate stories

After three volumes, it’s hard to tell where the story is headed. There is no purpose and a decent villain. The curse itself, despite frequent threats with it, remains mainly in the sphere of guesswork. Look for other fantastic elements with a candle. Belgium does not have a rich history of piracy (probably due to the fact that the country has only been officially for 200 years), and Barracuda will not change that.