I look at the news that has come to me recently: BBP O’s final volume and Shankar’s first, and I think it all makes sense, even if a bit non-chronological. The end of one great myth spreading through many cultures has just met the beginning of another.
Later it was said that the man came from the east
The title Shankar is a mysterious man, traveler, warrior and confidant of the gods who was found in a forgotten temple as a little boy. Such a Mowgli raised by creatures much older than wolves or humans. Several crowned families immediately claimed the precious child, recognizing him as a missing heir. Are you expecting a sort of “barbarian in salons” now? Nothing could be more wrong! After all, this is an independent figure, it is not easy to get into someone else’s plans. He is more likely to be cleverly lost among the legends of the Far East.
The boy wandering in the jungle has grown into an elegant young man who speaks many languages, knows how to behave in different cultures, is lucky enough to get into trouble – but in good company. Mazzitelli and Alcatena travel to India, China, Japan, Russia and Malaysia, where they pay tribute to the pirates the cartoonist loves. They even throw their golden boyfriend into the depths of the seas, because that’s where Lemuria hides. Beautiful, distinctive women stand in his way, including the most important one – the sister.
Middle comic instead of the Age of Aquarius
When I read Shankar , I had an irresistible association with the Hellboy universe or Willingham’s Tales , although I expected such ones with Living Steel . At first I was even a bit… disappointed. Mazzitelli and Alcatena surprised me like Moebius in Incal – I caught the mystical notes from the announcement, completely ignoring the fact that these comics are primarily adventurous. There is a lot going on in them, there is a mystical atmosphere, but also the characters’ humor and banter. Someone gets in the face, another from a nice uncle turns into demonic evil, because he was possessed by the spirit of his ancestor. Mercenaries, pirates, naive Ronin, reptilians appear.
In the end, Shankar’s lightness won my heart. The adventurous plot stands here in an interesting, very creative contrast to Alcatena’s drawings, which resemble woodcut – sometimes medieval, sometimes Japanese. This time the artist does not develop the fluid, surreal lines that you know from Living Steel . He focused on a clear contour, contrasts of black and white and faithful to the styles associated with legends, into which the main character just falls. So there will be frames like from a Russian icon, bas-reliefs on the facade of a Hindu temple, there will even be a Malaysian shadow theater. I feel a bit sorry that “Quique” pushed his creativity to classical historical rules, but I am comforted by the interviews in which he told how much fun he was doing.
Travel to India
Mazzitelli would not be himself if he had not included in the history he wrote about the subconscious, mortality or topoi connecting different cultures. It is possible that in 2021 it does not make such an impression on us, the legends and aesthetics of many cultures have become available to us at the click of a mouse, some of which we know from adventure movies, fantasy books or comics, including superhero ones. Perhaps that is why the story of a boy who appeared in so many legends gives the impression of something close, known, such a reading as a consolation. The adventurous story we have been longing for since we stopped believing in Indiana Jones.
Living Steel came out in the 90s, Shankaris some 20 years later. It is a comic book by mature, educated artists who have worked on various genres for many years – Alcatena drew for DC and Marvel. Armed with the wisdom of the years – they go back to childhood. Mazitelli and Alcatena use the classic patterns (the golden-haired boy saving various natives) and play them nicely. They promise romantic themes, then turn them into a twisted Bond episode. They show the hero ready to skin the gods, when it would make much more sense for him to sit still and hold someone’s hand. Finally, they pull Sandokan himself into their madness, offering us a ticket for the “train to India”, which we were supposed to miss, but he waited nonetheless. In its schedule, several dozen years are not being late.
Shankar consists of two volumes. If I am not mistaken, the first such edition was published in Uruguay in 2013 and 2014. It was translated into Polish by Jakub Jankowski, and it went very smoothly. The comic moves elegantly between high and low style, with pompous speeches or casual conversations with the gods when training fencing – and they always sound natural, especially in the main character’s speech bubbles, who usually bring the treble down gently to the ground. After all, for him it is another adventure in this world full of wonders. And it will not be the last.
