Solomon’s Thieves by Jordan
Mechner, LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland is a curious blend of historical fact,
comic book visuals, and contemporary cliché.
This graphic novel is the first in what I assume will be a series
exploring the downfall of the Knights Templar after the fervor for the Crusades
had finally dissipated. Thankfully, the
authors do not go into conspiracy theories although this graphic novel has just
about every cliché one could imagine. A
feisty maiden makes an appearance early on as the inevitable love interest of
one of the soon to be troubled knights.
If contemporary literature were close to true, it is a miracle the
women’s movement hasn’t made more progress because every woman from the Dark
Ages through Victorian times is sassy and intelligent and even educated.
The clichés stop with the young
maiden, however. The bad guys are
obviously drawn in a way that the reader immediately knows that this is a bad
guy. Is the reader supposed to boo and
hiss as soon as these two-dimensional characters appear on the page? And who is the intended audience for this
graphic novel because I couldn’t figure it out?
The illustrations are drawn in bold lines and visually this looks like
something drawn for a younger reader but since the main characters get drunk,
look for prostitutes on a bawdy night out on the town, and are even tortured so
one would assume the intended reader would be a more mature one. Unfortunately, because the characters are so
tediously predictable, a sophisticated reader will be bored before halfway
through the book because there are simply no surprises whatsoever. That the wayward knights will have their due
in the end is obvious. That one of them
will die on the way is also obvious. Of
course, the young man will be reunited with his atypical medieval maiden,
probably when she is daring to run away from some unwanted future—marriage or
nunnery, no doubt. Or maybe he will
rescue her accidentally. Either way, love
will out . . . *yawn*
If the writing or drawings were
more sophisticated, I could easily recommend this to adults and even young
adults. Because of the clichés and the
obvious story line, I can’t even recommend this to younger readers; I’d rather
encourage them to read something that will rise to the occasion, that will fan
the flames of curiosity, something that would not fall flat and leave the
reader, at least this reader anyway, bored.
In the afterward, Mechner lists
some of the texts he used as resources in his research for the comic. Anyone who wants to read about the Knights
Templar, the Crusades, or the Middles Ages would do better to pick up any one
of these books rather than read this graphic novel. However, if you want to be entertained then
most readers would do better to just watch a movie that takes place in this
era. God knows Hollywood
is unable to create anyone but a lovesick hero and a feisty maiden to give life
to a time in history that was rife with intrigue, fascinating people, and
challenging experiences. I expect more
than typical Hollywood fodder from the books I read,
even if it is “only” a graphic novel. I
love anything that is well written, interesting and engaging, without going for
the trite and predictable. That this is
a graphic novel is no excuse for laziness in plot, character development,
etc. A two dimensional medium for two
dimensional characters and a flat plot—how redundant.
In the end, a dull read about
something that deserves something more dynamic.