Peter Pan

Peter Pan #1-6

by Régis Loisel

For the first time in English, collecting the entire 6-volume series that's sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide.

Before he became Peter Pan, before his arrival to Neverland, he was a boy fighting for survival. Born into the harsh Dickensian London suburbs, an alcoholic mother leaving him in an almost-orphan state, Peter's only retreat from reality was the fantastical stories given to him by a friendly neighbour - allowing him to escape temporarily from the darkness of the adult world.

For the first time this six-volume series will be translated into English and collected in one omnibus edition, for UK audiences. Readers will love the chance to collect this amazing reinterpretation of the J.M Barrie's Peter Pan story for an adult audience. Loisel offers a unique take on a well-known tale that goes into a grim and dark world; his artwork will transport readers to a different world.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Retellings, Collections

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 16, 2005

About the author

Régis Loisel is a cartoonist living in Montreal, Canada. Since the 1970s Loisel has become one of the most decorated French comic artists, especially in the fantasy genre. Loisel has won several awards at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, including the lauded Grand Prix in 2002.

Reviews

[Seth T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, though not often, Peter had dreams, and they were more painful than the dreams of other boys. For hours he could not be separated from these dreams, though he wailed piteously in them. They had to do, I think, with the riddle of his existence.

In preparation for reviewing Régis Loisel’s Peter Pan, I thought it necessary to show due diligence by reading J.M. Barrie’s novel, Peter and Wendy. I’m glad I did. Not only is Barrie a fantastic writer with a grand taste for words (and the worlds their interplay can invoke), but I found the opportunity to have my conception of Pan entirely overturned. I, like too many others, have had my entire familiarity with the character dictated by the sanitized Disney product.[1]



Most of us are familiar with Disney’s penchant for trimming and reframing classic stories into confections made palatable for audiences in the lowest common denoninator (in this particular case, terrified moralists[2]). Under Disney’s pen, Hans Christian Anderson’s littlest mermaid does not lose her tongue, does not walk with excruciating pain, is not tempted to murder, and does not perish in the end. Disney’s Pinocchio does not kill the talking cricket at the beginning of the story. Victor Hugo’s finale doesn’t end in a litany of death with Disney at the helm. The stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, Aladdin—all paved over, gently landscaped, tidied, and made wholesomely presentable by the Disney company. Some of these stories survive their crisp evolution and become their own wonderful selves in a kind of cinematic afterlife. Others, like Peter Pan, fair less well. Not only does the story lose Barrie’s ingenious narration, the chief and principal joy of the book, but Pan’s character and world are eviscerated, losing all of the frightening terrifying heart that makes Barrie’s story so wonder-strikingly perfect. I’m actually somewhat upset at Disney for turning such a work of beauty into the anemic sort of innocuous adventure we find in their Peter Pan. Their version kept me from reading the original for more than three decades.

It’s fortunate that I had begun Peter and Wendy before embarking on Loisel’s journey with the character. Had I not, I would have been broadsided entirely by a crass, violent, sexist, and sexual vision of Peter Pan that stands strikingly at odds with Disney’s depiction. I would have chalked the book up as merely yet one more of the revisionist trend of reconceptualizing faerytales into dark, modernized treats for the Cynical Generation.[3] While reframing classic stories to be “more realistic” was cool for a while, it’s been done and redone and overdone so many times that it’s passed well into the realm of cliché by now. Adding to Disney’s sins, they almost had me believing that Loisel’s take on Peter was typically revisionist. But it’s not—not at all. Rather, it’s probably more properly viewed as devotional. It’d be counted fanfiction save for its production value and narrative strength.



Loisel’s origin story for Pan susses out so many of the terrible little deviancies that Barrie’s Peter and Wendy coyly includes. Barrie’s story took place in a world of violence and sex and anger and depravity, but Barrie consciously told his tale in a manner fitting for young listeners. It’s a deeply whimsical work, subversive in how baldly it glosses the depravities at stake in Peter’s world. Via Peter and Wendy, we find numerous dark surprises. Peter kills off Lost Boys as they grow too old for his taste. The Redskins are naked save for a decoration of scalps, some belonging to the Pirates, some belonging to Lost Boys, and their chief is so thoroughly overburdened with such decorations that he has difficulty sneaking. Tinker Bell conspires to have Wendy assassinated by a Lost Boy (with an arrow to the chest) and is successful until it is revealed that a bare chance caused the arrow to glance from her heart. Tinker Bell is portrayed as a bit of the sexpot, endowed with a generous bosom and wearing a scant leaf as a dress in order to best show off her figure. The faeries are a randy bunch and given to orgies. Peter has a fondness for meting out mortal violence. Barrie recounts that Peter will come home with stories of great adventures—only in the light of day no body can be found; at other times he will come home with no story at all—yet come daylight, we find a corpse in plain sight. Hook routinely murders his crew members for various slights and perceived slights. In Wendy, John, and Michael’s flight from London to Neverland, the journey is so long that Michael falls asleep and plunges from the air toward death in the waves below; Peter dives and rescues him spectacularly at the last moment, but Wendy suspects that Peter is indifferent to the saving of Michael’s life and wouldn’t have bothered save for the fact that he could look heroic doing it. Neverland drains its inhabitants of their memories and so Wendy and the boys begin to forget their former lives, but Peter, who’s been there longest, has no memory of his former life nor of many other things. Wendy continually must remind Peter of who she is. When Tinker Bell finally dies, Peter quickly forgets that she ever existed.



Had I not discovered that this was the character and realm that Loisel needed to build toward, I would not have been able to understand his work for what it is. Loisel’s Peter is not yet the Pan that Barrie would reveal to the world, but he’s on his way—and unlike Barrie, Loisel does not have any reason to hold back the grim clouds inherent in Peter’s tale. Barrie’s story is a gathering of light in a world of profane darkness; Loisel’s is the story that justifies Barrie’s requirement of light. To that end, Loisel crafts a visual narrative that capitalizes on an adult readership—and the grown-ups (parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and teachers) who take the time to investigate Loisel’s Peter Pan will find themselves at a place to better understand Barrie’s original, as well as the profound need for Barrie’s steadied voice from within that maelstrom.[4]

While Barrie’s Peter is grounded in Edwardian England, this prequel is founded a quarter-century earlier in a Victorian London more reminiscent of the filthy streets of Dickens than the drawing-room comedies of Oscar Wilde. Loisel’s London is dirty and sinister, on the cusp of reeling under the terrible shadow of the Ripper. The city is rife with whores and pedophiles and thieves and drunks. It’s a world of foul deeds and befouled hearts. And it’s here that we first find Peter, not quite fortunate enough to be an orphan. Through six meaty chapters Loisel helps Peter divest himself of his memory, his person, his humanity—all to the end that he might become Barrie’s eternal child-monster.


[Whimsical vengeance.]

As a writer, Loisel’s panels are wordy—in the sense that there are many words—but I’ve never had the aversion to verbose comics that some do. More importantly, Loisel writes an arc for Peter that rarely feels false. We know where Peter’s going to end up but we wonder how the French creator is going to get him from Point A to Point B. And not just from London to Neverland, but from Peter the very human child in despair and poverty to Peter the heartless, innocent child of faeries and whimsy. Loisel is solid in his characterization and in explaining all the bits that Barrie left undemanded and unstated.

But as good as Loisel is in his writing, his real talent lies in his illustration. He’s tremendously creative in his sense of framing within panels. Every page is bursting with dynamism and life. London is dark and desaturated, as you can imagine. It looks as filthy as it is in its Victorian heart. Neverland is bright, shockingly colourful, and designed for adventure.[5]

[What blows me away in this panel is that these mermaids are not just all
standard fish-tailed. One has the bottom half of a shark. Another has the
bottom half of a manta ray. I had never considered the remotest possibility of that. Note also: I’ve edited the nipples out of this to make the nudity more
coy and pg-13-ish, Akamatsu-style. For reasons.]

Beyond page-and-panel construction and environmental concerns, most readers are going to take notice of Loisel’s character design and figurework. Peter and Hook and Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell and the Redskins and Pirates and faeires and Londoners all are strongly, iconically conceived. Their features are cartoony, but that helps their ability to convey their passions in a way the reader can apprehend even without concern for the texts they nestle up against.

There will likely be some objection to Loisel’s depiction of the Black Pirate and the Redskins. Some very understandable objection. The Black Pirate features the horrible visual stereotyping we find in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century depictions of Africans in Western media, from Little Black Sambo to the native savages in Tintin and Little Nemo. The Redskins of the Piccaninny Tribe are indistinguishable from each other and all look like caricatures of Magua from the Daniel Day Lewis Last of the Mohicans, or maybe leaner meaner versions of Looney Toons’ Injun Joe. Outside their context within the island’s mythology, the figures are, I’d wager, an indefensible outrage from any creator in the last thirty years.





However, and I say this delicately, I think their offensive nature makes sense within the scope of Neverland and the imaginative fabric from which both Barrie and Loisel cut their cloth. Neverland is, in canon, the product of imaginations. In Barrie, Neverland is fashioned of the dreams of the people who dream it. And, it should be noted, there is not just one Neverland. That which we witness in Peter and Wendy is at least the product of Peter, Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys.[6] But principally, its details are fashioned by the magic of Peter himself. The land wakes and sleeps upon his comings and goings. In Loisel, I believe we find that Hook’s imaginations and dreams fuel the make-up of Peter’s Neverland as well.

Because this Neverland is constructed of the thoughts and beliefs of late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Caucasian Londoner children, it seems reasonable to presume that their fantasy conception of what they imagined to be the wild races would appear to resemble the grotesques we find in the literature of the time. Peter would likely have never seen a Native American, so his vision of them would have been strictly limited to the literary depictions of his age. And though he would have almost certainly encountered black men and women, people (not even just children) show an unhealthy resilience to giving up the stereotyped caricatures that fill the racial propaganda of any era. I think it reasonable to conclude Peter’s dreamworld creation of blacks and Native Americans would reflect the adventure serials of his day. Despite the distastefulness of the imagery, I think it speaks to the verity of Loisel’s adaptation.[7]

Additionally, the story of Peter Pan has always proved an awkward place for women. Madonnas, mothers, and whores, across the board. In the Neverland conception of things, one can be the gentle-and-soft mother (e.g. Mrs. Darling, the storyteller), the guileless maiden to be rescued (e.g. Tiger Lily), or the seductress (the mermaids). Wendy, confounding Peter consistently throughout the story and ultimately shattering his peace and routine, occupies all three parts, playing the virginal mother who seeks to tempt Peter from Neverland, the fortress of his innocence. Loisel attempts to lay some groundwork for Peter’s method of categorizing and, I think, he does a fair job. The women of London are universally vile, his mother included.[8] He is surrounded by whores and drunks. He longs for female purity but sees adult living as filthy as the lives around him demonstrate it to be. It works for a kind of psychological background for the character, but I’m still debating with myself at how deeply Loisel dips his toe into cliché on this point.



Really, one of the best ideas at play in Loisel’s Peter Pan is having Peter travel back and forth between London and Neverland. The terrors of one inform the terrors of the other and the diminishing returns on the pleasures he finds in London reinforce his eventual fate as the eternal boy finding refuge past the second star on the right and straight on ‘til morning. As Peter’s ties to the real world dwindle through death, displacement, and dissipation, he leaves behind a London that is becoming grislier and grislier by the year. Women in increasing numbers lie butchered in the streets from an unknown culprit even as Peter’s fortunes in Neverland rise. His reputation soars on the island and his ability to engage in constant adventure is secured. All the elements are in place for the status quo at which Barrie will find the character twenty years later. The origin is set and Loisel’s work is done.

Peter Pan is a book of fervent imaginations and the darkest of doings. It won through my skepticism with astonishing ease. The book is wonderful and horrible and I cannot imagine a more perfect prequel to Barrie’s mythology.

“Do you believe?” Peter cried. Many clapped. Some didn’t. A few little beasts hissed.

I was hesitant to believe. I was ready to hiss. But I didn’t. Instead, I believed. And I clapped. Loisel won me over. I’m still clapping.
_______

[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad.]
_______

Footnotes
1) And in my case, it’s not even the full-fledged Disney product. I made my initial acquaintance with Peter Pan through the Disney storybook record, an album with an attached ten-or-so-page picture book that tracked along with an abbreviated retelling of the movie. That always felt acquaintance enough for me.



2) Those who find violence and sexuality and bad opinion to be in that realm of things unconscionable to present for children’s consumption.

3) Shoutout to muh peeps.

4) Barrie perhaps even gives those of us who are parents to small children a couple recommendary signposts for how to navigate our discussion of the Real World with the small, ingenious, and darting minds in our charge.

5) As murderous and sinister as those adventures might be.

6) There is evidence of other voices making decisions over Peter’s Neverland (such as when the decisions of a few faithful sleepers and dreamers determine the fate of Tinker Bell in her hour of need). But they seem limited both in number and power.

7) If nothing else, it should stand as a reminder to those of us with children that the dishonest bigotries we weave into our own storytelling to the children in our charge can shape their lives in negative ways for years to come.

8) And lest Loisel come under charge of misogyny here, it should be pointed out that every adult figure (save one) is reprobate. Peter is sexually harassed by a woman and then pages later nearly raped by a man. And both men and women prompt Peter to expose himself for money, proving the disgusting nature of his social environment en toto.

[Tanabrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leggere questo volume dopo essersi letti Peter e Wendy aiuta immensamente a contestualizzare ciò che si vede e a comprenderne il motivo.

La prima volta che l'ho letto conoscevo solo il Peter Pan Disneyano e i suoi derivati, e quindi ne ero rimasto abbastanza sconvolto, archiviando il tutto come un semplice tentativo di mostrare un Peter Pan diverso, più cupo.
Ora invece, con ancora in testa la crudezza del mondo fanciullesco di Barrie, ho potuto apprezzare e assaporare le tavole di Loisel.

L'autore ci mostra Peter Pan prima di Peter Pan, partendo dal giovane Peter che vaga per una Londra Dickensiana, scura, pericolosa, piena di orfani e di poveri, di ubriachi e di prostitute e di molestatori.
Peter ama raccontare storie, è il protetto di un vecchio dottore e vive con una madre violenta e alcolizzata.

Finchè una bella fatina non lo conduce sull'Isola che non c'è, dove le creature dell'immaginazione, guidate dal caprino Pan, devono fronteggiare gli assalti del terribile Capitan Uncino, giunto per caso col suo veliero, sedotto dal canto di una sirena e in seguito rimasto per scoprire il loro tesoro.
Un tesoro però che è immaginario, che non servirebbe a un uomo reale e adulto ma che al tempo stesso è tutto ciò che tiene insieme questo isolotto immaginario, l'ultimo rifugio per le creature scacciate ormai dalle menti degli uomini.
E Peter è il prescelto, il bambino che dovrà salvarli tutti.


Si parte quindi da una Londra violenta e priva di speranza, per arrivare su un'isola dove la violenza abbonda ugualmente.
Le creature fantastiche, gli indiani e i pirati si affrontano spesso e con grande spargimento di sangue. E quando Peter, ormai diventato Peter Pan, porta i bambini dell'orfanatrofio sull'Isola perché diventino i suoi Bambini Perduti e lo aiutino contro Uncino, salvandoli al tempo stesso dalla violenza londinese, Campanellino agisce da brava fata, con gelosia, freddezza e malvagità, ordendo trame per procurare la morte di una bambina giunta con Peter, lo stampino della futura Wendy.

Penso che questo libro sia quanto di più vicino all'opera originale di Barrie io abbia trovato.
Davvero bello.

[D.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief bit of back story: the series of six books that comprise this complete volume were originally published in French starting in 1990 and ending in 2004. These books were snatched up (the first two, anyway) and translated in the mid-90s by Tundra, the hopeful and daring publishing concern created by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle co-creator Kevin Eastman. Most probably yet another victim of the burst bubble of comics late in the 90s, Tundra never continued the series past the second volume and the remainder were left untranslated (to English) until this omnibus edition. As I was along for the ride through all that, and was immediately enthralled by Loisel's vision of these well-known and beloved characters, so was I equally disappointed by never being able to finish enjoying his bold story. Imagine, then, how utterly excited I am to finally have this book in front of me.
The complete story does not disappoint. Loisel has taken a bold and well-informed angle at the firmly-formed Peter Pan characters. Though this story can quite capably sit in its place before Barry's famous book, this is not a book for children. In the strangest way, Loisel has created events, characters and even locales that work perfectly well with Peter, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, Captain 'Hook' and all the others that we know from Barry; what he does, though, is to treat the events that are largely expected to have happened before Barry's narrative as brutally as they should be. The pirate captain does indeed have his hand fed to the tick-tocking croc, and Loisel shows us the event unflinchingly. We learn where Peter and his Lost Boys come from, and their origins are not particularly pretty either. Loisel weaves the realities of London of the late 1880s capably into this fantasy, and just as ably introduces his own characters to act alongside those better known.
This prequel to the established tale is entertaining, just adult enough to appeal to grown-ups who know and love the original, and just enchanting enough to fit beautifully as the beginning to Barry's book. For most of the book, I was completely blown away by how wonderful an accomplishment it is and would certainly have given it a full five stars here. Unfortunately, a sudden and clumsy ending threw a wrench in the otherwise smooth mechanics of Loisel's Peter Pan, and sadly left me at the long-coming conclusion largely unsatisfied. But for a work of 14 years' duration, that's a small quibble. Otherwise, this is an ideal origin story for those well-familiar with the original.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my. I need to go watch the Disney movie now to bring me back to the light hearted, fun Neverland. The backstory for Peter, The Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, Hook & the crocodile all starts here. It’s adult only complete with boobies, swearing and violence. But those elements weren’t used in a trashy way but in a gritty, real, original fairy tale that leads perfectly into the story we’re all familiar with.

The transition of Peter from the streets of London to Neverland is all very natural. All of the characters’ personalities are on brand with what we should expect with nothing feeling forced. I was blown away with each section building on the previous one. Adding these layers to established characters.

I can’t recommend this enough to any adult with knowledge of the original Peter Pan. The comic medium at its highest.

I had forgotten how much of a jealous bitch Tinker Bell was!!

[Elfo-oscuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

una nueva vision de Peter Pan donde explica muchas cosas. No me atrae que mezcle también a Jack el destripador y en ocasiones se hace lento pero a su favor decir las 40 pags de extras que trae

[Léa Kaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dans cette « réécriture » nous découvrons les prémisses de Peter Pan de J. M. Barrie. Tout y est et ça marche, bien. Nous découvrons l'enfance de Peter, comment il est devenu Peter Pan, comment le capitaine est devenu Capitaine Crochet, qui sont les enfants perdus, d'où viennent-ils, et bien plus encore.

Peter Pan est très attachant – plus que dans l'œuvre originale. J'ai aimé son côté rêveur, dévoreur et raconteur d'histoires. Le premier tome de cette intégrale est sombre, cruel. Peter survit à cette misère, cette violence, par le biais de l'imaginaire, des livres et de son imagination débordante. Et puis vient le point de rupture avec la réalité, celui où Peter s'envole vers le pays imaginaire où les aventures les plus inimaginables l'attendent.

En bref, j'ai trouvé cette bande-dessinée excellente, même si certains passages m'ont quelque peu interloquée.

[Juan Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí (es un decir: es una obra que se contempla como experiencia estética, antes que nada) Peter Pan de Regis Loisel hará ya mucho más de unos buenos 20 años. La primera edición en castellano es de 1992, cuando aparecieron los primeros dos tomos (Londres y Opikanoba), y luego vino Tempestad en 1996. Loisel publicó luego otros tres tomos a lo largo de unos 10 años de trabajo (Manos rojas, Garfio y Destinos). No tuve oportunidad de verlos hasta ahora, en que conseguí el grueso tomo de la integral de Peter Pan, con los 6 trabajos reunidos. Loisel se había dado a conocer ya en 1983 con ese extraordinario trabajo gráfico, La búsqueda del pájaro del tiempo con guión de Le Tendre, pero sin duda que con Peter Pan Loisel se superó. Peter Pan es una recreación del cuento de Barrie publicado en 1911, pero acentúa su clave sucia, sangrienta, siniestra y muy carnal, que sin duda ya posee el original. Por ejemplo, Tinker Bell (“Campanita”) aparece en Barrie como “exquisitamente vestida con el esqueleto de una hoja –esto es, con las traslúcidas nervaduras de una hoja seca–, recortada y cuadrada, a través de la cual se podía ver su figura con toda facilidad”. De manera que la sensualidad que acentúa Loisel está ya contenida en el original de Barrie. Y Tinker Bell según Barrie está “un poquito regordeta”, muy rubensiana. Lo mismo con los asesinatos. En Barrie, Peter Pan va asesinando a los niños perdidos a medida que crecen y se enfrenta sanguinariamente con el pirata Garfio, de manera que no debería sorprender la sordidez de la obra de Loisel. Aquí francamente no hay un cuento infantil (a menos que uno se quede con la obra edulcorada de Disney). Loisel lleva su Peter Pan al Londres victoriano, marcado por Jack El Destripador, con calles apestosas, oscuras, llenas de matones, prostitutas, abuso infantil, alcoholismo, pobreza y extraordinaria violencia. Abunda la discapacidad física, el egoísmo, el desprecio por la vida, la brutalidad descarnada. Un mundo que contrasta con la fantasía del viaje de Peter, que, adivinamos, es lo que le permite sobrevivir pero que no lo exime de la misma brutalidad que deja en Londres y de la que él también es protagonista. Es de esa realidad que Peter Pan intenta escapar con la ayuda de la sensual Campanilla. Los personajes se encuentran muy lejos del estereotipo de la productora Disney, pese a que Loisel en alguna época colaboró con esta. El tratamiento gráfico es soberbio, los fondos son tan protagonistas como los personajes, el contraste intenso entre la sucia oscuridad de Londres y el brillante colorido de Nuncajamás. Loisel, pese a que sugiere un sugestivo rol para el capitán Garfio (que no se encuentra en Barrie), se anduvo extraviando en el guión de los últimos dos tomos, demasiada acción gratuita con escaso sentido de finalidad dramática. Uno termina un tanto perdido pero pletórico de imágenes.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the darkest, bleakest, most depressing things I've ever read. So I kind of loved it. This story written and illustrated by Régis Loisel tells the origin story of Peter Pan, and serves as a prequel to J.M. Barrie's novel, Peter and Wendy (which I've not read, but now I want to). I'm only familiar with the story of Peter Pan from various films I've seen, and most of them decades ago, so my memories are a bit vague, but I certainly don't recall anything this incredibly dark (there are at least three sexual assaults I recall in the first chapter). Though if Seth T's review (dated Nov. 11, 2015, which will likely appear for you as the top review) is any indication, perhaps this isn't as far from Barrie's work as I might expect.

In this origin story, we see Peter's horrific life on the streets of London. Not yet an orphan, but he may as well be. We learn how he comes to Neverland (and it's not yet referred to as such in this book), where his mother issues come from, why he very much hates adults and never wants to grow up (and it isn't pretty), how he adopts the name Peter Pan (which I found incredibly interesting), the history and nature of his relationship with Captain Hook, and so much more. I don't want to spoil any details, but Loisel does an amazing job of weaving together a captivating backstory for Peter Pan, taking elements that I'm familiar with from the Pan story (as I recall from popular culture retellings) and expanding on them profoundly to provide fascinating new insight into these characters. Loisel even ties Jack the Ripper into Peter's story in a way that somehow actually works.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book at first. I struggled to like Peter, and in fact never did--for all of his suffering, and all the pity and sympathy he deserves, he's a selfish, thoughtless brat of a child who fails those around him again and again. I quickly came to realize that almost all of the characters in this book are actually quite terrible people, Tinker Bell surprising me by being the most monstrous of them all. The jealousy I recall from the various films is only the vaguest hint of the darkness she harbors inside of her here. Probably the noblest of all the characters is the centaur Pholus who hangs with Peter's crew. And the most innocent being Pip. Poor, poor Pip.

Despite all of the shortcomings of these characters, I was completely captivated by this story. The fact that I had no one I really wanted to root for and still found this fascinating and emotionally compelling really says a lot about the quality of Loisel's storytelling. Even though I don't really like Peter as a character, I still have great sympathy for the heartbreaking circumstances of his life. The most depressing thing about the entire scenario is the forgetfulness effect that Neverland has on its inhabitants, causing them to repeat the same tragic cycles and never really grow as people.

Loisel's artwork is gorgeous--his people are depicted in an overly exaggerated caricature style which really works well for subject matter, and his detail on the landscapes and city settings is amazing. It's also worth mentioning that there's a fair amount of nudity in the book. The inhabitants of Neverland include fairies, elves, sirens, centaurs, satyrs, and these fae creatures don't exactly wear a lot of clothing. Loisel illustrates characters with many different body types, which is refreshing to see, and I particularly like his depiction of thicc Tinker Bell (my admiration tempered somewhat by her severe character flaws).

Another thing I definitely feel I have to bring up is that there are some character depictions that certainly caused me discomfort to look at--namely, his illustrations of the black pirate on Hook's crew and the Indian warriors that inhabit the island of Neverland. Though none of the characters in the story are portrayed in a particularly flattering way (even the ones described as beautiful), these characters very much recall racist depictions that have been an unfortunate part of American history. I don't know what Loisel's reasons were for portraying them in this style, and reviewer Seth T (referenced previously) makes an argument for why it might make sense in the overall meta-context of the story, but despite the reasoning behind it, and even though they're a fairly minor part of the book, it's an unfortunate smudge on what is otherwise a very remarkable work. It's the only thing keeping me from giving the story a 5 star rating.

4.5 STARS

[pi.kavka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chłopiec, które nie chciał nigdy dorosnąć. Bardziej bawiący się w walkę z piratami aniżeli faktycznie stawiający z nimi w krwawych szrankach. Grupa Zagubionych Chłopców śpiewających wesołe piosenki, czupurna wróżka Dzwoneczek, matkująca wszystkim Wendy...Jakże doskonale znamy tę historię. Disney ubrał opowieść Barriego w cukierkowy przyodziewek. Regis Loisel jednak nie tylko owe szaty poszarpał, ale jeszcze wziął nóż i boleśnie pokiereszował wyobrażenie całego świata o Nibylandii.

Wiktoriański Londyn. Brud, smród i ubóstwo na ulicach. Piotruś, kilku, może kilkunastoletni chłopiec, spędza czas opowiadając bajki swoim kolegom z sierocińca i przesiadując z pewnym podstarzałym lekarzem, który co wieczór kupuje mu miskę ciepłej zupy w okolicznej tawernie i opowiada mu historyjki, które Piotruś przekazuje później sierotom. Matka chłopca to alkoholiczka, która nienawidzi swojego syna i jest dla niego miła tylko wówczas, kiedy dziecko przynosi jej butelkę brandy, na którą samo musi zarobić. Pewnego wieczora, po awanturze z matką, Piotruś spotyka na swej drodze tajemniczą istotę, o której do tej pory słyszał tylko w bajkach. Chłopiec trafia do magicznej krainy w której mieszkają piraci, Indianie, syreny i inne mityczne stwory. Daleko jej jednak do wyśnionego miejsca, w którym mały chłopiec może czuć się bezpiecznie. Zagrożenia tam są jak najbardziej realne i niewiele różnią się od tych, które napotkać można na londyńskich ulicach.

Wiem, że w tej książce mamy sporo nawiązać do Freuda, ale ja – mówię uczciwie – nie byłam w stanie wszystkich ich wyłapać, bo nie do końca z teoriami tegoż jestem zaznajomiona. Na pewno jednak szybko wybija się relacja Piotrusia z matką, która rzutuje później na to, jak chłopiec postrzega kobiety – te starsze i młodsze – które napotyka na swojej drodze. Równie ciekawie ukazana jest więź łącząca chłopca z Kapitanem. Nienawidzą się, ale nie mogą bez siebie żyć, a nienawiść napędza ich do działania i nadaje ich życiu sens. Szalenie istotna wydaje się też kwestia pamięci. Magiczna wyspa jest bowiem wyspą zapomnienia. Upływ czasu jest na niej praktycznie nieodczuwalny, a wszelkie wydarzenia – tak dobre, jak i te złe – bardzo szybko się rozwiewają. Ten, kto pamięta, jest niepożądany i chce się go jak najszybciej usunąć z Wyspy. Co ciekawe, po Londynie krąży wówczas postać, która ma problemy z pamięcią przypominające normalny stan z Wyspy. Czy to oznacza, że wcześniej i on się na niej znajdował?

To brutalna historia. Pełna tak dwuznaczności, jak i dosadna w treści. Ciężka w odbiorze, ale i zmuszająca do refleksji. Odczarowuje ona również tę popularną wersję historii Piotrusia i pokazuje, jak ta opowieść mogłaby wyglądać, gdyby (oczywiście teraz czysto fantazjuję) wydarzyła się naprawdę w tamtym czasie. Te relacje pomiędzy bohaterami, wszelkie niuanse dotyczące pamięci, zapamiętywania, fantazjowania i wreszcie przeinaczania faktów na swój własny użytek...Naprawdę autorowi wyszedł z tego kawał świetnej fabularnie historii!

Kreska zdaje się być surowa, choć ukazując postacie w pewnym oddaleniu autor świadomie rozmazuje ich kontury. Kolory zdają się odzwierciedlać nastrój. Wystarczy przewrócić stronę, by jeszcze bez zgłębiania się w treść i bez dokładnego przyglądania się grafikom wiedzieć, jakich emocji możemy się spodziewać. Doskonała robota!

Polecam bardzo, ale tylko dorosłym, dojrzałym czytelnikom najlepiej takim, którzy zapoznali się z oryginalna historią Barriego.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's the thing: I've never read J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. My only contact with Peter Pan is through Disney, and the movie didn't entice me to read the book. But I know that the original is quite different, as is often the case with Disneyfied versions. I still recall with horror my innocent read of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Apparently, Régis Loisel remains true to the spirit of the original, inventing a dark origin story for Peter, with a Dickensian childhood in Victorian London, several mommy issues, and ties to Jack the Ripper. It's dark indeed and at times weird, but it all makes for a compelling and believable anti-bildungsroman, the evolution from Peter, the kid on the cusp of his teenage years, to Peter Pan, the kid who never grows up. It also made me uncomfortable, which clearly was something Loisel intended. Stereotypes had no small part on my disgust, but they are very special stereotypes. Neverland stems from Peter - it is what Peter wants it to be, and it is populated by characters that Peter fancies, which explains the Piccaninny Indians and the black pirate. It's not pretty, but it makes sense in his Victorian child's worldview. Same goes for sirens and faeries and any women in the story - they are only allowed to be mother/saints or whores. Basically, they are simplifications of the women Peter has encountered on his life so far.

The filter of Peter's mind still puzzles me on some issues: Rose and Hook. Hook is almost a literal father figure, since Peter's father abandoned his pregnant lover to sail towards unknown places. Curiously, Hook looks like the pedophile who assaults him on his way home. What does this mean? It feels like Freudian imagery, but I can't make any sense of it. Then there's Rose, who is eaten by the Guardian. Who I think is time itself, since he is a ticking crocodile. Because he ate a clock. So a metaphor for time? I'm not sure about this. I was quite surprised when Rose was also dead in real life, as we see when Jack is interned in the asylum. How did Rose die? Was she also another victim of Peter/Jack?

Peter Pan has been a delightful surprise. I couldn't stop reading, I can't imagine how it must have been for those who waited ten years between the first and the last issue.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've finished it for the third time yesterday, and I conclude to it being one of the best european comics made. The drawings, being a mix of over realistic sceneries and caricature characters juxtapose the story perfectly and the script, tho a prequel of the story by Barrie, offers a dark atmospheric take on how the misogynistic and deeply disturbed classic tale begun.

6/5, don't have second thoughts. It's not an easy read, but a great one nonetheless.

[Phil Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loisel's Peter Pan is near perfection. A terrifyingly sad tale, it slips right next to Barrie without missing a beat. Certainly not for children, but definitely for people looking for a gorgeous, dark, longing and very earthy prequel to a classic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

[Tasha-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark re-telling of the classic Peter Pan. The artwork in this was amazing. Really loved this one. And the big hardcover reissue is a gorgeous addition to my shelf :)

[Andrej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ovo je jedna mračna priča o Petru Panu koja je ima tragičan završetak. Ovdje je Zvončica prikazana kao glavni krivac za smrt djevojčice Rose, a koju na ubija krokodil. Njezin brat Mališa zbog taume koju je doživio na kraju završava u psihijatrijskoj bolinici zajedno sa Jackom Trbosjekom čija priča se također pojavljuje u ovom stripu.
Što je malo kontroverzno dječaci i Petar Pan nakon određenog vremena ničega se ovog ne sjećaju.
Pa tako gube sjećanja i o smrti Petrovog najboljeg prijatelja Pana, a koji je poginuo u borbi sa kapetanom Kukom.
Čini mi se da bi ova priča mogla imati i nastavak, a u njoj bi mogla biti prikazana Mališina mračna strana te borba protiv Petra Pana.

[Jeff Choualio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comment fait on pour lire le livre dans Goodreads

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Régis Loiselin "Peter Pan" tuli minulle tutuksi joskus 1990-luvun puolivälissä, jolloin perhetuttavamme lainasi minulle kolme Liken kustantamaa albumia. Sarjakuva oli aika heviä kamaa teini-ikäiselle, joka oli vasta pari vuotta sitten tajunnut että sarjakuva oli muutakin kuin humoristisia sanomalehtistrippejä tai harmitonta pottunenien seikkailua.

Sarjakuva oli kaukana herttaisesta lasten fantasiasadusta, jonka olin oppinut tuntemaan erilaisten disneysaatioiden kautta. Seksuaalisuus, kuolema, julmuus, rujous ja rumuus olivat kaikki läsnä jotenkin hämmentävällä mutta mukaansa tempaavalla tavalla - tosin eipä herra Barrien alkuperäinen tekstikään taida olla ihan viatonta kamaa, mikäli tekstiin perehtyy vähän pintaa syvemmältä.

Loisel ei saanut työtään valmiiksi ennen kuin 2000-luvun puolella, mutta niin kävi myös minun luku-urakalleni. Sarjan julkaiseminen jätettiin nimittäin Suomessa kesken, ja niinpä tarina sai minun osaltani päätöksensä vasta tänään jolloin luin kaikki seitsemän albumia sisältäneen englanninkielisen kokoelma-albumin "Peter Pan"(Soaring Penguin, 2013).

Miltäpä se sitten tuntui, kahdenkymmenen vuoden jälkeen? Lyhyesti ja ytimekkäästi: odottaminen kannatti. Sarjakuva on edelleen huikeaa kamaa niin tarinansa kuin kuvituksensa puolesta, ja se jää pyörimään mieleen vielä pitkäksi aikaa sen jälkeen kun albumin kannet on suljettu.

Huh, tätä pitää sulatella aikansa. Mutta suosittelen joka tapauksessa.

[Jase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pretty incredible.

This is a beautiful hardcover collecting Loisel's take that serves as a possible prequel to Barrie's original Peter and Wendy. Loisel is a master cartoonist, this is an incredibly drawn book and would be a poor addition for many people who are set with and love the Disney tone of Pan. Yes, it would be poor, this 5 star book.

I just want to stop you from wasting your time though with saying this is a dark, sad, violent, and grim version of Peter Pan. If you have a certain image you cling to with this property or don't like stories like that, this isn't for you, like at all, which is perfectly fine, I like those stories too, but no need to read it just to tell us about it lol. I feel a bit snarky saying but so many reviews on GR, many of the top ones, are bad faith reviews reviewing books not on their own merits. You can't review something against what it was never meant to be.

This is not however sort of manboy grimdark nonsense take though where what it is a crutch for what the author can't otherwise do in storytelling, its just an adult take, by someone at the very top of his field who could draw anything at a high level, including a pretty idealic retelling of this story, but chose to give us this one, an equally disturbing, brutal, and beautiful take on the Pan mythos.

Great shelfporn for comic book fans. It's a very nice looking hardcover.

[Amaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solamente he leído la mitad porque no consigo encontrar el resto. He cogido los tres primeros volúmenes de la biblioteca pero el resto no estan. Ademas he intentado comprarlo pero está descatalogado.

Aun así, lo que he leído me ha encantado. Reinventa el origen de Peter Pan de una forma muy original, y mezcla la magia de la historia con la crudeza de la realidad. Por otra parte los dibujos son increíbles. Ya había leído hace años otro libro del mismo autor ( La Búsqueda del Pájaro del Tiempo)y tenía ganas de leer más.
Ahora no puedo esperar a leer el resto.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing prequel to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that has enough material to satisfy the adult reader. This shares more in common with the book than the Disney version that most people are familiar with. Régis Loisel shaped Peter's background in the realities of 1880's London and all that it entails. Recommended.

[kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, Loisel's "Peter Pan" is more true to the story than Barrie's. It's darker, brimming with Freud references and more violent, but also more nuanced and just sadder. A disturbing, haunting tale drawn with incredible skill.

[JMM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una historia que comenzó genial, mostrándonos ese Londres sórdido dickensiano, pero poco a poco el argumento se fue debilitando y el final parece una broma. No pillo la trama de Jack. Y lo de Garfio... sin comentarios.

[Juankayfenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sencillamente genial . Si no has leído este librazo ,hazlo . Me ha encantado leer los orígenes (Siempre según el autor)de Peter pan . Es decir cómo llega a ser Peter Pan. Como el cocodrilo odia a garfio . Como garfio perdió la mano. Me ha encantado esta novela gráfica . Verdadera maravilla

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the art, but it didn't feel like the book was adding anything to the mythos, and it was more and more of a slog.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jediné co jsem o Petru Panovi věděl předtím, než pan Vybíral vydal tuto knihu, bylo, že je to kluk který se rozhodl nestárnout a lítá. Taky jsem měl povědomí o nějakém pirátovi s hákem a vílách. Všechny filmy na toto téma mě úspěšně minuly a knihu jsem nečetl, takže jsem hledal způsob, jak se na toto čtení tématicky připravit. Nakonec jsem si Petra Pana poslechl jako rozhlasovou hru s Vlastimilem Brodským. Bylo to asi hodně zjednodušené, ale dozvěděl jsem se alespoň základní děj a taky o tikajícím krokodýlovi. Jenomže na obsah tohoto komiksu asi není možné se dostatečně připravit. Jednak se odehrává ještě před dějem původní Barrieho knihy a hlavně Loiselův komiks vůbec není pro děti.

Celý Loiselovo vyprávění má dvě roviny. V té první vypráví o původu Petra Pana, o tom jak se dostal do Země Nezemě (když nad tím tak přemýšlím, tak tento název v komisu vůbec nezazní), o tom proč ho kapitán Hák (tohle jméno tam také nezazní) nenávidí, proč si říká Petr Pan, jak se tam dostali “ztracení kluci”, i proč ten zatracený krokodýl tiká. Druhá rovina příběhu však naznačuje určité spojení Petra Pana s jistými nehezkými událostmi z viktoriánského Londýna. Musím se přiznat, že tuto rovinu vyprávění ještě plně nechápu a stále hledám spojení různých událostí a indicií. Je možné, že tam hledám něco, co tam ani není. Jestli to tam najdu, tak dám plné hodnocení.
Nicméně, celý komiks výborný. Je krutý a místy značně brutální, nebojí se nahoty, ani nízké morálky londýnské spodiny. Kladného hrdinu aby v této knize člověk pohledal a celé je to vlastně dost depresivní.

Co se týká výtvarné stránky, tak ta je ohromující. A to říkám přesto, že mi Loiselova kresba nesedí úplně vždycky a k jeho kresbě některých obličejů mám výhrady. Ale když to vezmu jako celek, tak je to pecka. Ať je řeč o detailech, ulicích Londýna, přírodě, zvířatech a nebo o ženských tělech, má to něco do sebe.

[Ville-Markus Nevalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are quite a few adaptations of Peter Pan and Loisel's is a curious one in the sea of retellings. Rather than children's story, it's a story of children aimed for more adult readers: the world is full of whores and drunkards who wander around hoping to take advantage of others while the children are beaten for not doing their bidding. It's a miserable life. To survive, Peter tells stories that the other children listen in hopes of getting away, even if for only a moment, from this miserable life.

However, the world in Neverland is not as peachy as one might think, it's not a simple escape from the horrors of London but a new place where Peter can fly, yes, but also must face new troubles. And Peter's not a saint either - he is the product of a horrible environment and will strike back when he needs to, and at times even when he doesn't need to.

I liked quite a lot in Peter Pan but unfortunately, every thrilling idea, visual and story twist was eventually counterbalanced by clunky writing, poor pacing or, and this feels bad to say, plain ugly illustrations. The graphic novel is quite long, each of the six chapters long and extensive, and during that time, a lot will happen. Yet, it's never firmly steps into greatness. There are more than few things that had me stop and think about it, intruiged by where it was going, which makes me want to recommend it, but its just that, bits and things every now and then that show promise.

Peter Pan is a fascinating, more adult-oriented version of the classic fairy tale that Disney has made known for all, and it is better than many of the cheap Alice in Wonderland oooh-it's-about-drugs-and-abuse-oooh-retellings, which is why its so unfortunate why it never reaches that promise fully.

[Payton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discovered and read this entire thing last night. Crazy stuff. As an adult Peter Pan fan, particularly of the original Peter and Wendy, the idea of a prequel to that story that embraces the more hardcore stuff that gets glossed over in the original is super interesting. I think it mostly works. There’s a few inconsistencies as a prequel (Peter is said to have all his baby teeth so probably not 13, tinker bell isn’t supposed to be alive expect around the time of Peter and Wendy, Peter saying fuck doesn’t necessarily line up with og Peter) but overall the world of neverland, the pirates, and most importantly Peter felt very true to the original. This book is so edgy and I don’t think it necessarily needed all of it, but it overall worked very well. Especially in how we see why Peter gets desensitized to violence and feelings overall. The crazy moments really feel earned and impactful. Despite the edginess, it also does have some genuine sincerity and emotion and fully embraces the fantasy aspects. Particularly Peter’s relationship with his birth and surrogate parents were both very interesting and I was really invested. I think the pacing was a bit strange and it kind of got worse as it went, like he didn’t know exactly where to take it. The ending especially felt very abrupt, like I couldn’t understand why it ended there. On the other hand, the specific page of Peter leaving London again was still very well done as a closer. Overall a must read for any Peter Pan fan and a super interesting prequel to the original.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally don't have an issue with picking a rating, but the note at the end revealing this volume represents 14 years of work for Loisel make me feel really callous about tossing off a "meh" and a three star rating. The artwork is a pleasure to witness but the writing is convoluted, almost as if Loisel is trying to cram too many ideas together into one story. He puts in a proposal for Peter's parentage that could've been interesting but does nothing with. Towards the end there is a secondary storyline involving Jack the Ripper that feels tacked on and I am not quite sure if it adds anything.

Almost none of the main characters were likeable. Peter is selfish and is a liar, the Lost Boys are mean to each other, and the Indians (and one black pirate) are mostly horrible caricatures. The characters I did like met tragic ends to further the development of Peter, and one of those I felt was a needless tragedy. Language and situations involving suggestions of sex between older women and young boys are unsettling, even though such instances are integral to the main storyline of why Peter Pan rejects adulthood. In the end, Loisel's "Peter Pan" is a dark exploration of what is needed for a healthy childhood, and is a formidable imagining of the origins of J. M. Barrie's beloved characters, but is certainly not for kids.

[dammydoc · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Non voglio nulla che mi leghi a questo mondo! Li lascio alle loro miserie... E dimenticherò tutto, Campanellino... Tutto. Sì... Tutto! Tranne chi sono. E sarò per sempre Peter Pan. L’eterno fanciullo. Guarda, Campanellino... Il bene, il male... Ogni cosa prima o poi finisce. Solo i sogni sono eterni”. Régis Loisel riscrive le origini degli iconici personaggi nati dalla penna di James Matthew Barrie, fedele alla caratterizzazione originale, intessuta di echi gotici e inquietanti chiaroscuri, cancellandone ogni edulcorazione di disneyana reminiscenza. Le vicende precedono idealmente la storia raccontata in Peter Pan e Wendy. Lo scenario è tuttavia molto diverso da quello dei signorili Giardini di Kensington e dalle case dell’alta borghesia di Mr e Mrs Darling. La cornice è la Londra vittoriana delle bettole, della prostituzione diffusa, dei quartieri degradati, dell’alcol che diviene l’unico e l’ultimo rifugio dei disperati; non a caso i passi di Peter finiranno con lo sfiorare le tracce del famigerato Jack lo Squartatore…

Ne scrivo su

https://www.mangialibri.com/peter-pan...

[D.F. Gallardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

En líneas generales es Peter pan con insultos, lenguaje vulgar, alguna teta que otra, un intento de violación, niños siendo niños sin filtros ni edulcorantes, unos cuantos borrachos, prostitutas, media docena de muertes y Jack el destripador que no interviene directamente en el relato y respecto del cual desconozco qué relación puede guardar con la historia más allá del escenario londinense. Mi teoría es que aparece simplemente porque él y Peter son casi coetáneos (1888 y alrededor de 1900 respectivamente), y el autor deseaba rellenar con un poco más de sordidez una obra que empieza de manera algo sorprendente, y en la que luego todos esos supuestos elementos transgresores no son más que mera utilería sin más significado que el de adornar un escenario cruel, mísero y feo.

El dibujo es muy personal, y podrá gustar más o menos pero es innegable que está trabajadísimo desde que comienza con el lápiz hasta que acaba con el color y la tinta, no obstante el conjunto de la historia y el guión es bastante errático, en una narración que parece que va a alcanzar el clímax en tal o cual momento, sin que este nunca llegue, concluyéndose de forma torpe y atropellada.