Three Shadows

by Cyril Pedrosa

Back then, life was simple and sweet. The taste of cherries, the cool shade, the smell of the river... That was how we lived, in a vale among the hills—sheltered from storms, ignorant of the world, as though on an island, peaceful and untroubled.

And then...
And then everything changed.

Can you ever escape your fate?

Three shadows stand outside the house—and Louis and Lise know why the spectral figures are there. The shadows have come for Louis and Lise’s son, and nothing anyone can do will stop them. Louis cannot let his son die without trying to prevent it, so the family embarks on a journey to the ends of the earth, fleeing death.

Poignant and suspenseful, Three Shadows is a haunting story of love and grief, told in moving text and sweeping black and white artwork by Cyril Pedrosa.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Horror

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Cyril Pedrosa began his career in animation, working on the Disney films "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Hercules." He has since become a rising star in a new kind of graphic storytelling, combining the influences of animation and the literary traditions of Borges, García Márquez, and Tolkien to create a unique visual handwriting.

Reviews

[Seth T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids, from time to time, will die from terrible conditions that for-better-or-worse will give parents a good space of time in which to quietly go mad. Leukemia, cancer, some horrible incurable disease that causes the body to slowly shut down. It happens. And it's always distasteful. And Cyril Pedrosa made a comic about it.

It's times like this that the term comic is grossly inadequate as a descriptor of what it hopes to describe.

I am the father of a young daughter and the possibility of losing her haunts me. It's completely unreasonable. I live in Southern California and the probability that my daughter will at least get a full two decades of life is ridiculously high. I know this. And yet every morning I wake up and wonder if this will be it, if this will be the last day I get to enjoy my child. The thought is ever only fleeting and I don't spend my days weighted by a morbid gloom, but nonetheless the fear exists and is powerful enough to assert its presence daily.



One might reasonably presume that I would suffer some trouble while reading what amounts to a story concerning, principally, a father's reaction to the news that his only child will soon die. I didn't. And it may be to Pedrosa's credit that I could read through what should be some morbid, morbid stuff without curling up in a ball and hating the world for what it does to unlucky families.

Three Shadows, for all its heartbreak, really is a wonderful work. Pedrosa's art is dynamic and assured, balancing a deep naturalism with necessary storytelling chops. I want to see more of his work and I want to see it now. His visual sense more than compensates for how little dialogue wanders through his book. Certainly Pedrosa uses words, but more often than not, he simply uses his pagework to bring texture and life to his story about death.



Any work about such a darkly emotional topic will find itself hounded by one great threat: the danger of becoming a cheap, sentimentalist ploy. A full ninety-three percent of movies about dogs fall into this trap. Easy manipulation. Contrived heartbreak. Formulaic beats. As Hollywood shows us at least yearly, hammering on heartstrings to get a reaction and jerk some tears is child's play for even incompetent writers. Pedrosa could have gone this route and let his artwork trick us into thinking we were reading something great and whelming. He, fortunately, is better than that.

Three Shadows cloaks the misery of an unpreventable death in an almost faerytale garment. Joaquim doesn't start coughing up flecks of blood or feeling unbearably lethargic or getting shockingly sudden headaches that knock him off his feet. Instead, he one day sees three dark riders, watching him from the distance. While at first they simply seem to ride off, causing his parents to laugh off their concerns, the family soon finds that Joaquim's every movement is haunted by these dark horsemen. Lise is petrified and torn apart by her inability to care for her son. Louis, a man of tremendous power, is broken by his inability to protect his son. And quickly, Three Shadows becomes an exploration of how two parents might react to terrible news.

Pedrosa's book balances between whimsical, fantasy elements and the darkness of real-world tragedies, delivering something closer to a meditation on impending loss than a critique of how one might deal with such an inherently counter-rational experience. Despite its subject matter, Three Shadows never threatens to be more than one can take. If anything, its lessons are delivered gently and with deep empathy.



[originally reviewed at Good Ok Bad]

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back then life was simple and sweet. Everything was simple and sweet. The taste of cherries, the cool shade, the fresh smell of the river. That was how we lived, in a vale among the hills, sheltered from the storms. Ignorant of the world, as though on an island. Peaceful and untroubled. And then. Then everything changed.


Well this took me completely by surprise!

Three Shadows is a graphic novel about a family and their son, who is haunted by these three shadows that appear from time to time. Louis, the father, can't let them take his son so he decides to embark on a journey across the world to escape them. From that point, the graphic novel takes a dark turn and with that, it became one of my favorite graphic novels of all time.

To put it simply, this is a story of love and grief. Somewhere in the middle of the novel, when I realized what this story was actually about, my jaw dropped and I got chills. Three Shadows are something we all experience on our own skin (more indirectly than directly), and Pedrosa told us the story of three shadows in a perspective that I have not yet read about. The novel's story and its beautiful art style are the reasons why I ended up loving it so damn much, and why I recommend it to any lovers of either great metaphorical stories or great graphic novels in general.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful and mythical story. There is a family living in happy bliss - a mama, a papa, and a boy. Life is wonderful and charming until 3 shadows show up over the hill. The Mama knows immediately this is bad news. She goes against papa's will and seeks out the local fortune teller. She gets bad news. Mama accepts the fate of the family while the papa does not. He runs away with the boy trying to outrun the shadows. They both learn much on this journey.

This story was so good. I was compelled to read more. Great characters all over the place and the three shadows are right out of mythology. The art is in black and white and I still loved it. There is so much in this story. I am thrilled to have read this story. It is so different and well told. There is melon Collie in it as well and there is truth here.

Every parent would do anything to save their child. I don't want to say any more about the story and give things away. Just read it. First Second did it again. Thank you.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

A farmer, his wife and their young son live an idyllic life on their farm in the country. Until one day three ominous horsemen appear in the hills, getting closer to the house every day. They’ve come for the boy. So begins a desperate game of cat and mouse as the farmer tries to save his son from his fate, running from the horsemen across land and sea - but can anyone outrun Death?

Cyril Pedrosa’s Three Shadows is a decent but flawed comic. The story takes a while to get going but once the father and son hit the road and run from the eerie Nazgul-esque horsemen, it gets exciting. In a weirdly synchronous way, once they make it aboard the ship and stop running, the narrative also runs out of momentum and stagnates. Then the whole thing goes completely off the rails in the final act with Pedrosa switching perspectives and pursuing a strange tangent before returning to conclude the main storyline with the farmer.

The book comes from a place of real heart, inspired by Pedrosa’s close friends’ watching their child die very young, but he can’t really sustain a 270 page book out of that difficult concept. The father and son run from the horsemen - and that’s it really. Sure, other things happen but I wouldn’t say they were that interesting or added to the overall theme and could’ve easily been lost with no effect to the story. Pedrosa definitely puts across the intensity of the father’s will to save his son really powerfully though - you believe he’ll do anything to save him.

I enjoyed the art the most. Pedrosa is a former Disney animator and the skill is right there to see on the page. The characters’ movements are perfectly captured and fluid and his range is exceptional from the natural beauty of the countryside to the city to the crowded docks, the boat, and everything after and in between. It’s black and white and done almost sketch-style (as you might expect from a former animator) in pencils, inks and charcoal and it’s really impressive.

If it were shorter and more focused, Three Shadows might be a better book. As it is, it’s not bad though Pedrosa has to pad the thin story with a lot of unnecessary subplots to keep the reader engaged. And that final act was a helluva mess - at a crucial point in the story, instead of feeling the emotion of the characters I was puzzled as to what was happening! In the end, Three Shadows is an ok allegorical fantasy adventure with just a few too many narrative problems to keep it from being great.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should let a little time pass before writing down my thoughts on this gem of a comic. Instead, I will rave about how much I loved it, how hard it hit me, how it's such a huge shame that this is the only book translated into English by this French author/illustrator, how incredible its drawings are, very similar to Craig Thompson if you like him, how Pedrosa is one of the few black and white artists I've encountered who can really utilize the contrast of deep blacks and stark whites to perfection, how happy I am that I stumbled into this book in the library without any prior knowledge of it or its author's existence, how he weaves a simple story of two parents' love for their child and the lengths they will go to to ensure his safety, the kind that really punches you in the gut with the reminder that you and the people you love are mortal.

[Jadranka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genijalno!!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a couple and their young son, happy as a young family most often is, and then suddenly unannounced there are threats, danger, shadows, and the father chooses to escape with his son, to run away to keep his son safe. What would you do for you kid if you knew he might die? Anything, right?

Ach, these books are so difficult for me to read, ones about the imminent threat to your kid. Of course every parent fears in quiet moments the threat of loss. You hold her hand tighter as you cross the street. You watch as for the first time he will go solo on the slide, and you hold your breath. She goes out on a date and she is back at 2, safe, you breathe again. You are old enough to know that sweetness can sour, that people do in fact die. With me it was a kid with autism, unexpected, a dark horror. Who would expect such a monster unleashed on a small child you have caught and named? And what would you do if the threat of a future of limits and loss loomed? And what would you do to try and reconstruct his broken brain? Anything.

So this book is a sweet magical realist fantasy allegory for parents about love and grief. The early going is very simple, manga-ish, goofy faces. Relatable. Then as threats arise, shadows loom, skies darken and you see detailed landscapes and feel alienation. It's a journey into the heart of the Real, and realism, away from mere play. Love and grief, in black and white.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I showed my husband my latest First Second graphic novel, Three Shadows, he took a gander at where the book had originally been published. “France? Doesn’t First Second know that there are hardworking American graphic novelists being put out of their jobs because of guys like this?” He was joking of course, but after a while a person might begin to agree. Where DOES First Second come up with these people? If they’re not romancing us with handsome mummies as in The Professor’s Daughter then these overseas masters of the pen are shooting dogs into space like in Laika. Cyril Pedrosa is French, but looking at his style alone you wouldn’t be inclined to give his pen a strict nationality. This is maybe one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Can you “read” an image? “Reading” Pedrosa can be dangerous. It means fully immersing yourself in a story that, at its heart, is about the death of a child and how parents fight and cope with the tragedy. You have to be able to trust that the artist will get you in and out of this kind of subject matter with skill. Fortunately, in this particular case there is little need for worry.

When little Joachim sees “shadows” staring at him from his window at night, it doesn’t initially seem to be of any concern. Sure, there are three mysterious horsemen on the hill by his home, but is that a crime? Until now Joachim, his mother, and his father have all lived an idyllic life consisting of planting, skinny-dipping, and long nights in front of the fire. Yet the presence of the shadows is undoubtedly sinister and when the boy’s mother discovers their real purpose, her husband decides to take matters into his own hands. They want his son? Fine. They’ll just have to follow where he goes, over the river and to a land where they’ll be safe. Soon, though, it becomes clear that the journey to safety may be more dangerous than anyone could have expected. And when at last it’s time to let go, it is Joachim who enables his father to face the truth and who helps him understand at last.

The bookflap of this novel says this about the story’s creation. "Three Shadows was born out of the agony of watching his close friends’ child die very young.” Maybe a parent who had lost a child firsthand would have been too close to the material. Maybe it took a friend like Mr. Pedrosa to put a magical realism spin on the action and make something that is more “true” than a straight memoir might be. A book like this, working with the hope that it will convey at least a smidgen of what a person feels when their child is taken away, has to rely on the skill of the author’s storytelling. So it is that we encounter several lives. There are moral uncertainties and terrible choices, and it is the mix of these stories that make this book a richer piece of fiction. The story makes a rather odd turn when Joachim at last confronts the three shadows and we take a peculiar interlude into the decadent upper echelons of rich society. Otherwise the script is tight and the scenes a valuable part of the whole.

You might wonder what other artistic endeavors Mr. Pedrosa has dipped his toe into. Well I’m getting all my information about him from the bookflap of this title, so take that for what it’s worth. Apparently Pedrosa, “began his career in animation, working on, among others, the Disney films Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules.” I wouldn’t have had a clue about this without reading this info. Thinking of those two films you get a very clear image in your mind of that particular Disney style. And certainly Pedrosa’s art is, above all, wholly cinematic. There are close-ups, landscape shots, views from above, and magnificent dream sequences. There are panels that stretch across the page in long strips, panels that are tiny boxes and others that work without lines or borders.

More than this, however, is the man’s use of line. He is to long thin curvy lines what Peter Sis is to dots and speckles. Whole scenes are carved out of twisted lines that sweep about the characters. And yet it is the sheer variety of artistic styles that will impress you the most. When Joachim’s father takes him away to be “safe” the sequence of the boy leaving his mother is done in sharp contrasting shadows, the mom almost barely more than a shadow by the end. Or there's the golem sequence that looks more scratchboard than ink. And yet the image in this book of Joachim pulling a chair across the floor, in spite of all the technical beauty of Pedrosa’s ink, is my favorite image if only because it feels so real and true. That then is the true reason I respect the man’s work.

All this, and not a single sacrifice made on the part of character. Motivations are never purer than when they are invested in keeping your children healthy and happy. There’s not a person in this book that doesn’t appear to know his or her own mind. What they do, they do out of self-interest, or on behalf of someone who is impotent. Except the three shadows, of course. They too know their own minds, but their actions are on behalf of something we cannot hope to understand while we live.

You may wonder if this is an appropriate inclusion in your children’s collection, to which I would have to reply, “Ah, the French”. About page four you get a look at innocent full family nudity that is highlighting the sweetness of their life together and will make many a parent shake in their shoes. Boobs! And later in the book when the family is sleeping, more boobs! And hanging dangling bits! So, taking into account the maturity of the subject matter, the allusions to what happens to African female slaves, and the sheer amount of breasts in the book, best to be putting this in the teen and adult sections of your library, I should think.

The book begins with the poem “Not Pleasant But True” by Deborah Garrison about a parent’s wish to die in their child’s stead. It’s a small poem. No more than ten lines in length, but the tone is there. And yet, this is not a story that dwells in misery and loss without acknowledging life in all its mysteries. Three Shadows is a sometimes subtle, sometimes chaotic, always beautiful book that dares to tackle every parent’s deepest fear. Heartbreaking and brilliant by turns, this is required reading.

Ages 14 and up.

[Murat Dural · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cyril Pedrosa Disney Stüdyoları'nda "Hercules" ve "Notre Dame'ın Kamburu" gibi animasyonlarda çalışmış, tarzını, kesinlikle katıldığım kitaptaki ifade ile; "Borges ve Garcia Marques gibi edebi gelenekle harmanlayan" bir yazar / çizer. Baobab Yayınları tarafından Türkçe'ye kazandırılan eseri Doğan Şima çevirmiş. Tam bir Latin Amerika gerçeküstücülüğü, meseli, destanı diyebilirim. Kara kalem çizimler, diyalog ve kurgudaki saflık ve bunlara rağmen derin anlatım takdire şayan. Beğendim.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heavy, emotional, bittersweet.

On a base level this story is dark and creepy, three shadows want a couple's only child, their young son. The boy's father, Louis, decides to take him far away from the three shadows. He sacrifices so much to keep his son safe.

However, what makes this story powerful and memorable are its allegorical qualities. It is a story about dealing with loss, especially the loss of a loved one, a child. The final poem, which had me in tears, says it all:

In this our springtime there is no better, there is no worse.
Blossoming branches burgeon as they must.
Some are long, some are short.

Such an amazing story that seamlessly flows from horror to high seas adventure to thoughtful reflection. The artwork is just as smooth and sundry transitioning from light to dark, sharp focus to faint, with vary degrees of detailing. The artwork definitely reaches out to the reader on an emotional level.

Absolutely beautiful!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visuals where weird and at start I found them repelling but as novel progressed I liked them more and more and at the end I loved them.

Story itself is great too.

This graphic novel is real gem.

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα υπέροχο, συγκλονιστικό graphic novel που θεωρώ ότι δε θα αφήσει κανέναν ασυγκίνητο.

Ένα πρωινό ξεκίνησα για βόλτα στο κέντρο της Αθήνας. Όπως πάντα μπήκα σε μεγάλο βιβλιοπωλείο με σκοπό απλά να ρίξω μια ματιά, χωρίς να αγοράσω κάτι. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι από τότε που απέκτησα kindle έχω μειώσει κατά πολύ τις αγορές μου σε βιβλία, αλλά όχι σε graphic novel. Κάποια χρήματα που μου μένουν στην άκρη τα αφιερώνω στην αγορά graphic novel. Το συγκεκριμένο δεν το είχα ακούσει από κανέναν, ούτε είχα διαβάσει γι’ αυτό. Απλά το βρήκα μπροστά μου και μου φάνηκε ενδιαφέρον.

Αφού το αγόρασα διάβασα μερικά πράγματα γι’ αυτό. Για τις διακρίσεις και τα βιβλία που έχει πάρει και για το ότι ο δημιουργός του εμπνεύστηκε από ένα πολύ άσχημο γεγονός που συνέβη στο στενό του περιβάλλον. Όταν δύο στενοί του φίλοι έχασαν το παιδί τους.

Η ιστορία είναι πραγματικά συγκλονιστική έτσι όπως την έχει δημιουργήσει ο Pedrosa και σε φέρνει πολύ κοντά σε αυτό που συμβαίνει στους πρωταγωνιστές του βιβλίου και πιο πολύ στον πατέρα της ιστορίας. Σε βάζει σε πολλές σκέψεις που θα σου δημιουργηθούν όταν γίνεις γονιός ή αν είσαι. Τι χειρότερο για έναν γονιό από το να χάσει το παιδί του; Πώς βιώνει ο καθένας μας την απώλεια; Πόσο εύκολα αποδέχεσαι ένα τραυματικό γεγονός; Και τι συνέπειες έχει αυτό στη ζωή σου αλλά και τη ζωή των αγαπημένων σου προσώπων; Η διαφορετικότητα των ανθρώπων είναι συγκλονιστική. Δε βιώνουν με τον ίδιο τρόπο ένα γεγονός όσο τραυματικό κι αν είναι. Και μετά από αυτό θα υπάρξει λύτρωση; Θα μαλακώσει ο πόνος ή θα μάθουν να ζουν με αυτόν;

Όλα αυτά θα τα βρεις σε αυτήν την γλυκόπικρη ιστορία. Μέσα από το πολύ όμορφο σχέδιό του ο Pedrosa θα καταφέρει να σου μεταφέρει όσα θέλει για την απώλεια, τον φόβο, την μάχη για τους αγαπημένους, την άρνηση, τον θυμό και τέλος την αποδοχή.

Ακόμα κι αν δεν το γνώριζα θεωρώ ότι ήταν μία από τις καλύτερες επιλογές που έχω κάνει.

[Chris_P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back then, life was simple and sweet. The taste of cherries, the cool shade, the smell of the river... That was how we lived, in a vale among the hills--sheltered from storms, ignorant of the world, as though on an island, peaceful and untroubled.

And then...
And then everything changed.

When it comes to graphic novels, I prefer those with realistc and colored drawings. In The Three Shadows the art is neither realistic nor colored. At first I found it a bit hard to follow but soon I got the hang of it and was carried away by this magnificent fairytale of love and loss.

In this our springtime
there is no better
there is no worse

Blossoming branches
burgeon as they must

Some are long
some are short

Stay upright
Stay with life

Pedrosa depicts the story of a father trying to avoid the inevitable, prepared to do whatever it takes in order to keep his son with him. But who can deny that when it's time, it's time?

Deeply moving, The Three Shadows touches an extremely delicate matter which is not so easy to look upon, let alone analyze. It's definitely a graphic novel that stays with the reader for a long time.

[Licha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book. I don't want to give much away because part of the beauty is letting the story unfold on its own, even when you've figured out what's going on. This book held me in suspense, wondering what was going to happen once the three shadows revealed themselves. What would they look like, what would they ask of the family? Like the book jacket asks, How far would a parent go to save their child? It's a question that has probably crossed anyone's mind when they have a child.

The story did slow down a little bit during the boat trip and the part of the mansion, but overall this book was a joy to read. I loved seeing the quiet but idyllic life of the family at the start of the book and the drawings captured the emotions of the characters and the mood of the story.

This brought a tear to my eye because part of the process of life is having to learn to let go. A very lovely story.

[A. Raca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5🌟

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πολύ ωραίο και ιδιαίτερα ξεχωριστό graphic novel, με ενδιαφέρουσα και αρκετά συγκινητική ιστορία και εξαιρετικά όμορφο σχέδιο, το οποίο ήταν απόλυτα ταιριαστό με το ύφος και τους σκοπούς της ιστορίας. Ο συγγραφέας και σχεδιαστής είπε να γράψει μια ιστορία με έντονα αλληγορικά στοιχεία, με αφορμή τον θάνατο ενός παιδιού και την επίδραση που έχει ένα τέτοιο τραγικό γεγονός στους γονείς του. Ακόμα και να μην πιάσετε την αλληγορία πίσω από την ιστορία, θα απολαύσετε σίγουρα την παραμυθένια αφήγηση, την περιπέτεια και την ένταση των χαρακτήρων για να γλιτώσουν από τις τρεις σκιές. Σαν βιβλίο διαβάζεται πολύ γρήγορα και μονοκοπανιά, μιας και δεν χωρίζεται σε κεφάλαια για να πεις ότι θα κάνεις ένα διάλειμμα και, άλλωστε, είναι τόσο ενδιαφέρον που δεν είναι εύκολο να το αφήσεις. Προτείνεται άνετα, ειδικά αν σκεφτεί κανείς ότι μπορεί να βρεθεί με ένα δεκάρικο σε γνωστό βιβλιοπωλείο της Αθήνας.

[Jefi Sevilay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portekiz'i okuyup çizim olarak değilse bile hikaye olarak beğendiğim için Ekinokslar'ı alıp okumuş ve hikayeyi çok dağınık ve kopuk bulmuştum. İşte orada okuduğum yorumlarda her-boku-beğenmek-zorundayım-timi siz bir de Üç Gölge'yi okuyun asıl o çok güzel deyince alıp okudum ve iyiden iyiye trollendiğimi anladım.

Özetle;
Portekiz > Ekinokslar > ... > Üç Gölge

İtiraf ediyorum bazı yerleri de anlamadım. Neyi neden yazdı, neden çizdi, o karakterler niye vardı, hele o kargacık burgacık karışık çizimler... Muhtemelen kendi de anlamamıştır da neyse..

Romantize edemeyeceğim, gerçekten kötüydü.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful graphic novel I've read so far! A true masterpiece!!!

It was charming, emotional, thought-provoking but most of all real. It is inspired by a real story the author has witnessed and I can honestly say that he did an amazing job representing it in a fictional world.

Ah, the artwork! Outstanding! It is exactly the way I imagine every graphic novel to be!

Best graphic storyteller!

Go, go, go! Read it :)

[etelium · Rating 4 out of 5]

“bu bir bahar manzarası,
yoktur iyisi kötüsü.
rüzgâr nasıl eserse,
öyle büyür çiçek dalları.
bazısı uzun olur,
bazısı kısa…”

[Sv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portekiz kitabının yazarıymış farkında değildim okumaya başladığımda. Portekiz'den de çok etkilenmemiştim açıkçası, bu da öyle oldu. Güzel ve tek oturuşta bitiyor. Çizimler bazen çok karmaşık ama genel olarak güzel bir grafik roman.

[Jeroen Decuyper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andermaal een boek dat ik per toeval vond in de bibliotheek, terwijl ik op zoek was naar Portugal, ook van de hand van Cyril Pedrosa. Zijn laatste worp moet net voor mij ontleend zijn, waarna ik dan maar deze Essentielle - één van de beste strips van dat jaar 2008, aldus de jury van het Festival van Angoulême - meegenomen heb.

De kleine Joachim woont met zijn ouders op een idyllische plek in de vrije natuur. Zijn ouders Louis en Lise leven zelfvoorzienend, jagen en zetten vallen in het bos, hakken het brandhout dat ze nodig hebben en hebben een hond als huisdier. Alles verandert echter wanneer de drie schimmen uit de titel verschijnen en voor de nodige onrust zorgen. Ze houden afstand, vermijden elke poging tot direct contact, maar blijven evenwel dreigend aanwezig.

“Drie Schimmen” speelt zich af in een andere tijdgeest, met het typische bijgeloof van een nog niet zo heel lang verleden. Lise trekt eropuit om antwoorden te krijgen van een oude vriendin, een heks-waarzegster, en krijgt van haar te horen dat de ruiters waarschijnlijk voor hun zoontje Joachim zijn gekomen. Lise reageert vrij passief en gelaten, terwijl Louis kwaad wordt omwille van het feit dat zijn vrouw - tegen zijn zin in - raad is gaan vragen elders. Hijzelf is vastbesloten om zich met hand en tand te verzetten tegen het lot.

Pedrosa's tekenstijl doet van ver denken aan Craig Thomas’ Blankets, een andere graphic novel die eveneens een diepe indruk achtergelaten heeft bij mij, al was het maar door het gebruik van heldere lijnen en het zwart-wit. Nu, de stijl van Pedrosa is minder gestroomlijnd. Zijn hoofdpersonages zijn overdreven groot of klein getekend, maar hebben wel degelijk iets bezwerend. De illusie van beweging die heel vaak van de pagina’s spat, voelt heel natuurlijk aan, waardoor je als het ware blijft kijken naar sommige platen: je komt ogen te kort. Verder is de tekst niet altijd gevat in tekstballonnen: de tekst staat vaak in de tekeningen zelf, zowel bij de vertelstem, als voor sommige uitspraken van de personages zelf.

De manier van vertellen van Pedrosa creëert spanning en schept tegelijk een drukkende en pakkende sfeer. Tussen het einde van het verhaal en het stukje dat als een soort epiloog dient, zit er een kort dipje of een m.i. minder sterke sprong, maar dat is een detail. Als je dan nog weet dat het boek de ontberingen van ouders die hun kroost willen beschermen verbeeldt, krijg je een hartverscheurende graphic novel in handen. Eentje die ik sowieso nog een paar keer zal herlezen.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this, though I don't know quite what to make of it-- the story is interesting, especially in its parts, but at the same time, I'm not sure it all hangs together. There are sequences, like the getting on the boat stuff, that take a lot longer than I think they are worth, and elements that are never really resolved satisfyingly-- like the slave holder stuff. And I struggled to see if this was a story for kids, which isn't entirely my thing, or if it was meant for adults, and if that's the case, I don't think it really gave me as an adult enough of a deep reading experience to really satisfy.... It was good, but just sort of partway there for me.

Which is no critique of the art or the visual storytelling, which is really accomplished-- lots of nice pictures, and better yet, groups of pictures that direct your attention appropriately but also feed the eyes.

[Metin Yılmaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayatın bir şekilde devam ettiğini anlatan bir çizgi roman. Evet, böyle özetlenebilir sanıyorum. Ne kadar büyük sorunlar olsa da devamında neler getireceğini bilemeyizi anlatmışlar bizlere. Ölüm bir bitiş fakat kalanların tarafında olursak belki bir daha başlangıç demektiri gösteren bir güzel öykü. Konuyu özetleyen bir doğu atasözü ile bitirmişler bu öyküyü;

"Bu bir bahar manzarası, yoktur iyisi kötüsü
Rüzgar nasıl eserse, öyle büyür çiçek dalları
Bazısı uzun olur, bazısı kısa
Ayakta kal, yaşayanların tarafında kal."

Yakınlarını kaybedenlerin, içlerinde bir burukluk ama yüzlerinde sevidkleriyle olan anıların tebessüm ettirişi ile kapağını kapatacakları bir çizgi roman.

İyi okumalar.

[Ma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben mince alors. Quand ils disent "émouvant" sur la jacquette ils plaisantent pas. Très joli conte graphique, peut-être quelques petites longueurs, mais une jolie façon d'évoquer ce sujet. Très beau dessin.
J'aimerais en dire plus, mais l'ayant pris au hasard dans la bibliothèque, j'ai aussi apprécié laisser l'histoire se découvrir.
C'est une aventure, un petit garçon, son papa, une menace et des émotions finement décrites.

[Xavier Roelens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoe traag-idyllisch het verhaal ook begint, uiteindelijk grijpt het je mee. Het verhaal is geworteld in de Griekse mythe van de drie Schikgodinnen, maar verwijst ook naar de slavenhandel én naar de recente vluchtelingenthematiek, en op andere ogenblikken moest ik ongewild denken aan In de ban van de ring of De golem. Het boek is een avonturenverhaal, een vluchtverhaal eigenlijk, maar met een emotionele kern. Vader en zoon gaan op de vlucht voor de dood en moeten vaststellen dat de dood overal rondom hen is. Het zet daarvoor zowel historische als fictieve elementen in. Uiteindelijk gaat het boek over het verlies van een kind en hoe je daarmee moet leren leven, een inzicht waar de vader een boek lang voor op de vlucht is.
De zwart-wittekenstijl van Pedrosa is van een zwierig expressionisme. De boomkruinen op de eerste pagina's zijn cirkelvormig getekend en dat zet meteen de toon. Ook de stadsbeelden bevatten geen rechte lijnen, de huizen kronkelen. Geregeld zoomt de auteur op een gezicht in, of biedt een afwijkende invalshoek, waardoor het erg filmisch wordt. En ook speelt hij gedoseerd maar slim met de mogelijkheden van het potlood: strakke lijnen worden afgewisseld met meer gekraste achtergronden of het gerookte effect dat een potlood ook kan hebben. (Er is zeker een technisch woord voor wat ik bedoel, mijn tekenkennis botst hier op zijn grenzen.)
De scènes vloeien vlot in elkaar over, waardoor je wilt doorlezen. De afwisseling tussen desolate natuurbeelden en hectische stadsbeelden en de kunst om al die verhaal- en tekentechnische mogelijkheden vloeiend samen te houden in één verhaal bewijzen het grote vakmanschap van Pedrosa.

[Larnacouer de SH · Rating 4 out of 5]

In our springtime there is no better, there is no worse.
Blossoming branches burgeon as the must.
Some are long, some are short.
Stay upright.
Stay with life.

//

I wasn't intending to it because if the Graphic Novel has more than hundred pages and drawn out by charcoal style it gives me a damn headache. Even so I read it all in one sitting I couldn't put it down and totally can say it was 100% worth the pain this time. Well done Pedrosa!

[Gideon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mooie, dromerige tekeningen en een ontroerend verhaal.

[Fei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and moving, I loved it.

[Sevki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elim 3 puana gitmiyor, üzgünüm. Pedrosa'dan Portekiz ve Ekinokslar'ı okumuş biri olarak, hele ki diğer birçok kişinin yorumlarında Üç Gölge'nin daha iyi olduğunu belirtmeleri yüzünden, beklentim yüksekti. Ancak gerçekten de beğenmedim. Detaya inelim:

Öncelikle "Üç Gölge'den sonra Portekiz ve Ekinokslar'da o tadı bulamadım" diyenler, üzgünüm ama siz iyi misiniz? Portekiz'de öykü de çizimler de iyiydi, Ekinokslar'da öykü bulamaç hâlde ancak çizimler harikuladeydi, Üç Gölge de ise ne çizimler ne öykü başarılı. Bu çirkin çizim tarzının bir ismi var mı bilmiyorum, Jeff Lemire'in Essex County ve Sualtı Kaynakçısı çizimlerini andırıyor. Onlarda da bu tarza bayılmamıştım fakat hiç değilse öykülerin içeriğine uygundu. Pedrosa'da ise olmamış!! Gerçekten de Portekiz ve Ekinokslar'ı okumanıza rağmen bu çizimleri beğenebiliyor musunuz? İlginçsiniz.

Öykünün teması ve ana fikri ile öykünün ilerleyişi kesinlikle çok alakasız. Gölgelerin gizemi ve süreç bu şekilde kalsın diyelim, peki ya baba-oğulun anlamsız 100+ sayfalık seyahati ve sonrası? Böyle mi vedalaşılır? Hele ki annenin kendi geçireceği zamandan direkt tamamen fedakarlık edip hepsini babaya vermesi? Dünya böyle işlemez, gerçekten anne olan kimse böyle hissetmez. Hadi etti diyelim, neden 3 kişi seyahat etmiyorlar? Çok mu fazla şey farklı oldu sanki sadece 2'si seyahat edince? Sahiden de çok kötü bir işleniş.

Son olarak da (HAFİF SPOILER) çocuğu için kendini feda edebilme fikrinin işlenişi... Yaşamını feda etsin tamam da geriye kalan birlikte geçirilen anlar sadece sanrı seviyesinde tecrübelerden ibaret? Hele son on sayfa... 2 yeni çocuğunun hiçbir kişiliği yok, saçma sapan Baron'a 30-40 sayfa ayıracağına bari buraya biraz emek verseydin Pedrosa, aile üyelerinin aralarındaki dinamikleri görebilseydik.

ÖNERMİYORUM. Portekiz'i her türlü öneririm, Ekinoks'ları "sıradan ve iç içe geçemeyen öykü + muhteşem çizim" kategorisinde yine öneririm, ancak Üç Gölge'yi HAYIR. Neyse ki Karakarga değil de Baobab basımı. 1. hamur 268 sayfalık kitabın etiketi şu piyasada sadece 80 TL. Karakarga olsa abartısız 180'den etiket koyardı, hahahha. (Bkz. "Senso" baskıları. RE-ZİL-LİK.)