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Judex #1
Judex
In 1917, silent film director Louis Feuillade and writer Arthur Bern de created the character of a mysterious avenger, wearing a slouch hat and a dark cloak -- Judex His name means "Judge," and he has sworn to mercilessly punish criminals Judex appears and disappears like a living shadow. Trained by the vindictive Woman in Black, he is a master of disguise and an excellent fighter. His loyal followers include a female athlete, a reformed ex-convict and a pack of vicious bloodhounds. Beneath the ruins of a castle is his secret lair, where he interrogates his prisoners through a "television" screen. His nemesis is Favraux, a corrupt banker who has left a trail of ruin and misery in his wake.In this epic saga, Judex not only challenges Favraux, but also the evil Diana Monti, Favraux's fianc e who is as ruthless and powerful as he is. But as our hero struggles against the villains, he falls in love with Favraux's daughter, the beautiful, innocent Jacqueline...
364 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1917
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 28, 2015
Oh, sure. There are a overabundance of coincidences and a number of implausibilities. But in this kind of fare, that's to be expected and twists and turns like those in Judex are all but a requirement. It's all part of the fun.
By way of further review, here are some comparisons that that I drew along the way:
(1) In Judex a lot of characters are introduced quickly. (by my sloppy count, there were something like 13 or 14 in the first 10 or 11 pages alone). This - for whatever reason - immediately reminded me of several of the works of Gaston Leroux. So, I quickly went to a practice that I had found useful back when reading G.L. .... namely of keeping a scorecard of the characters! This helped a lot in avoiding confusion since many of the players had one or even two aliases. (As it turns out, translator and annotator Rick Lai notes other commonalities with Leroux.)
(2) the similarities with The Shadow, Batman, etc. Lai emphasizes a connection with The Shadow. But, I also noticed a shared trait or 2 with one of today's "superheroes", the Batman, in particular. Like the Batman, Judex is motivated by early childhood events concerning his parents. And too, while endeavoring to do good, Judex experiences his fare share of both angst and misunderstanding.
(3) last but not least, there's the eponymous Feuillade serial (it's my personal favorite of Feuillade's cinema work). The book Judex like the film Judex is excellent.
By way of further review, here are some comparisons that that I drew along the way:
(1) In Judex a lot of characters are introduced quickly. (by my sloppy count, there were something like 13 or 14 in the first 10 or 11 pages alone). This - for whatever reason - immediately reminded me of several of the works of Gaston Leroux. So, I quickly went to a practice that I had found useful back when reading G.L. .... namely of keeping a scorecard of the characters! This helped a lot in avoiding confusion since many of the players had one or even two aliases. (As it turns out, translator and annotator Rick Lai notes other commonalities with Leroux.)
(2) the similarities with The Shadow, Batman, etc. Lai emphasizes a connection with The Shadow. But, I also noticed a shared trait or 2 with one of today's "superheroes", the Batman, in particular. Like the Batman, Judex is motivated by early childhood events concerning his parents. And too, while endeavoring to do good, Judex experiences his fare share of both angst and misunderstanding.
(3) last but not least, there's the eponymous Feuillade serial (it's my personal favorite of Feuillade's cinema work). The book Judex like the film Judex is excellent.
January 29, 2015
Fascinating to read the forerunner of characters like "Batman" and "The Green Hornet." The antiquated style and language prove difficult, but that's all part of the charm.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews