The Magical Twins: Oversized Deluxe

by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Georges Bess (Illustrations)

When the King is taken prisoner by Tartarath, the "Dark Master," twins Prince Aram and Princess Mara, set out to rescue their father and save the kingdom. But when the use of magic is forbidden, the twins will have to find new ways to prove themselves worthy of restoring the throne.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, France

56 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

About the author

Also credited as Alexandro Jodorowsky

Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.

Reviews

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairy tale from Jodo, who is holding quite on the ground without his metaphysical and destiny lines. Twins needs to face challenges to free their father from captivity. It's simple, but well executed and it has some nice ideas, even some humor. Targeted for young audience, so you need to manage your expectations.

[Cheyenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

format: ebook, 48 pages
rating: 2 stars

panels looked good, story could have worked if it wasn't for the bs writing. everything was overexplained and repeated a thousand times.

example: the twins' companion can only use each power once a year, we get told every other page and are never told what powers this includes so each time it feels like a stupid deus ex machina moment

didn't see the end coming and again: could have worked but the writing was too bad

i could honestly see this kind of story working in a game but here it just feels too formulaic, even for a kids comic (kids are small humans but they're not stupid!)

[Adam Šilhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Velmi jednoduchý, ale hezký komiks pro malé čtenáře. Ani mě ve výsledku neurážel.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet adventure story for kids, definitely for a younger audience than Jodorowsky's previous works.

[Fern · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit too "hold your hand" the whole way adventure for me. The art was really pretty though!

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've learned to have low expectations for Euro fantasy comics like this one; it may have nice art (which is why I decided to give it a read) but the story will always be a bit of a let down. Nonetheless, this one still managed to be disappointing. It started off seeming to be a "serious" fantasy story, but very quickly it started having fairy-tale-like motifs (repetition of challenges, defeating opponents who then become allies and given the heroes a token to summon them by), and everything just seemed too stupidly neat; and indeed, it turns out the characters were not really on an adventure, but rather going through a sort of obstacle course designed by their parents.
Things that stood out:
-- Lyrena spends way too much time talking like a stock neurotic (e.g. any Woody Allen character); the note in Jodorowsky's bio that he is a psychotherapist hints at why he might write that sort of dialogue
-- the beings on the fourth island claim to have been in despair under the rule of "Tartarath" for years; but give that there is no Tartarath, were they all acting, or did the twins' father just enslave them for a few years in preparation for teaching his children a lesson?
-- for at least the first two allies the twins recruit, their words and phrasing sounds creepily similar to evangelical conversion
-- that Lyrena keeps saying she can't use the same power again for a year seems like a Chekov's gun, like that should be important given how much it is repeated, but it never is relevant; and she seems to limitless discrete powers, so it is hard to imagine it mattering.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s tale of twins Prince Aram and Princess Mara rescuing their father King from the “Dark Master” Tartarath is rather simple from the outset. In comparison to much of Jodorowsky’s work, this is a rather short story geared toward a much younger audience. However, the book measures taller than 12” and about 9” wide, a great European size that gives the artwork extra oxygen. It’s unfortunate how often European graphic novels end up truncated and miniaturized when published in English. With ample room to paint us a story, MAGICAL TWINS starts with an advantage.

Jodorowsky’s writing is able to move apace straight from the starting line. We learn quickly who is who and what they can do in a seamless flow of well-practiced story telling. George Bess’ artwork is sumptuous, bright, and filled with artful motion in magical settings. The artwork and Jean-Jacque Rouger’s coloring are a major contributor to the beauty of the work, but also lifts the story itself.

There is a plot twist that a discerning reader can see coming about three quarters into their obstacles. In addition, the Prince and Princess skirt their challenges often by falling on the same skill – their sense of smell. These are minor shortcomings that are easily forgotten as each cell is packed with action, wit and engaging images. This book is meant for kids, but it’s a pleasure to read for adults as well. It pays to accept it as a simple, beautiful jaunt that ends well and sit back to enjoy the journey, the comparatively large pages and the beautiful artwork.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot of this graphic novel is fairly standard fantasy quest stuff, although the weird creature helper adds some odd twists to the tale. My only complaint was that a couple of times the reader had no way of knowing what the creature could do, and thus it seemed like Jodorowsky pulled things out of thin air.
Unlike Jodorowsky's other work, this is not aimed at adults, but instead at younger readers. The magical creature is part helper, part comic relief, and the royal twins of the story really do have a lot to learn, which is the real point of the story. Their quest to rescue their father from the big bad evil guy involves solving puzzles more than just hacking and slashing through baddies, which is refreshing and thoughtful.
The actual payoff is a little odd, but the story itself is fun, in the same way that reading something like an Oz story is fun. Allow the story to be a little surreal, and don't always expect things to make sense, and you'll be fine.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Magical Twins features the bare minimum plot for a fantasy story. The twin children of the king must venture to five islands and conquer the monsters there to rescue their father from a mysterious villain. Zero character development, basically no exposition. Each new monster the twins encounter gives them some special ability to defeat the next monster. Maybe a four-year-old would find this story interesting? The art, at least, is solid and probably the only redeeming factor here.

[Dorio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una obra con recursos bastantes genéricos. La trama se puede desarrollar con o sin los protagonistas, que, por lo demás es débil y absurdamente simple. Los diálogos no son orgánicos, las resoluciones de conflicto salen de la nada, todo es un conjunto de escritura floja que viene de un autor que pareciera haber perdido el amor por su oficio y se dedica a sacar historias con los recursos básicos que le da la experiencia.

[Bria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm on a Jodorowsky kick but this was a little too juvenile for me. Probably just fine for small children, but a very deux-ex-machina pointless exercise that might be better as a video game, also for small children. And they're so mean to Lyrena! Forcing it to use all its powers, and in the end, all for nothing!

[Berslon Pank · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe the parents could have just been better parents and then they wouldn't have had to play a dumb trick on their kids who are incredible warriors because they could bully a magic bird into doing a lot of work for them.

[Camille Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Del universo de comic de Jodorowsky, a mi juicio es la más débil, no existe un desarrollo de personajes y falta un trasfondo mayor. El viaje y despertar suele ser recurrente, pero dejo mucho que desear.

[Tyler Lutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Definitely for young children, not the 13+ it recommends.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fanciful tale of two (sorta') spoiled twins who are sent on a quest by their ruler parents. There are a few awkward gaps in-between stories but all in all a fun read.

[The Angry Lawn Gnome · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for the artwork. The story was candidly awful.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jodorowsky’s magical thinking narrative for the PG-13 and younger demographics, perfectly executed by Bess in sugary coated plump illustration. Nothing overly menancing, super safe, all ends well.

[Jack Burnham]

Lighter, more conventional fare from Jodorowsky, but with the usual high standard of art and enjoyable while it lasts

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing interesting happens here.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Incal Jr." -- this hits some of the themes and symbolism as Jodorowksy's more profane and mature work while being a little more juvenile and easy going.

[Highland G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kids tale with no real stakes and no real challenges, just little moral moments. Its not for people my age so I found it lacking.

[Millguy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of the original Dark Crystal movie do to both the elvin fantasy setting and the fact that the protagonists have virtually no character traits at all. The ending twist was unfortunate and makes the re-readability non-`existent. The art is great though.

[The Effervescent Essence of Marshall Herff Applewhite · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book for children. I didn't like the drawings that much. The title is cool.... mmmMagical Twins!

[Corey Bricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art and a clever and worthwhile story. It is quite predictable, but I feel like that suited the content just fine. An enjoyable little read, and something I wish would have existed when I was a kid.