Ralph Azham #1: Black Are The Stars

Ralph Azham #1-3

by Lewis Trondheim

From the award-winning mind of cartoonist Lewis Trondheim comes the expansive and rich anthropomorphic medieval world of Ralph Azham. After failing the test of the Chosen One as a young duck, Ralph had a tough time growing up as the village pariah, often getting into trouble due to an innate extra sense that’s rather unbelievable, embarrassing, and unfortunate. That was only compounded by the constant visit of spirits that only he, Ralph, could see. Cut to today, his village is threatened by a vicious Horde, an apocalyptic flood may take the life of Ralph's only supporter, his father, and the Wise Men's Counsel are out for Ralph's hide after rumors he had his way with one of their daughters. Ultimately Ralph must leave the village and unlock the secrets of his childhood as he journeys to the Kingdom of Astolia, but not before he takes a young ward, Raoul, who bears an uncanny similarity to Ralph. It's a sprawling story of fathers and their sons, magic, mysticism, with plenty of action, adventure, and signature Trondheim madcap humor.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Speculative Fiction

152 pages, Hardcover

Published June 28, 2022

About the author

The phenomenal Lewis Trondheim is never where you next expect him. As an artist and writer, Trondheim has earned an international following as one of the most inventive, versatile, and prolific graphic authors. From autobiography to adventure, from bestselling fantasy and children's books to visual essays, Trondheim's unique, seminal imagination consistently dazzles. His work has won numerous awards, including the Angoulême prize for best series with McConey and he also co-created the titanic fantasy epic Dungeon with Joann Sfar.

He is one of the founding members of the alternative publishing house L'Association, a proving ground for many of the greatest talents in European comics working today. He is also the editorial director of a new imprint called Shampooing, dedicated to comics for all ages.

Lewis lives in the South of France with his wife, Brigitte Findakly, and two children.

Reviews

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to pass a definite judgement - this is just the first 4th of the full story.

It is very promising: a creative story that keeps on doing unexpected things without feeling contrived. My hunch atm is that I'll give 5 stars when I complete the full series.

Let's hope the final 2 volumes of the English translation will be published sooner than later.


Longer reviews of speculative fiction on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/15/2022 Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.

6/30/2022 with colors by Brigitte Findakly and translations from the original French by Kim Thompson and Joe Johnson.

I'm not sure what I expected when I cracked open this volume of anthropomorphic animals living in the countryside. From quite early on you see that our title character Ralph Azham is a bit of a loser, the town's pariah and scapegoat after he was sent back from Astolia as a teen, his status as a Chosen One rescinded despite the manifestation of powers that turned his bill (he's vaguely duck-like) and hair blue. Since then, he's helped his Dad eke out a living and tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to stay out of trouble, an endeavour not helped by his smart mouth and slacker attitude.

But trouble is coming for their village in the form of Vom Syrus and his militant Horde. When plans to defend the village go awry, Ralph and another survivor, young Raoul, take off to find the Emissaries who will hopefully bring them back to Astolia and give them a second chance at being Chosen Ones who can help protect their kingdom. But not everything is as it seems among the Emissaries, and Ralph will soon discover that he's leapt from the frying pan straight into the fire. Will he be able to rescue himself and perhaps countless others on his journey from being a maladjusted weirdo to becoming perhaps the only person who can save the kingdom from enemies without and within?

Despite the cartoony art style, this feudal adventure is not a kids' book, and is indeed fascinating for telling a story without clear-cut good and evil. While Lewis Trondheim and I differ on one key point of what constitutes a ghost, I found the murky morality of the story altogether convincing. Ralph as a protagonist is both compelling and annoying, taking no responsibility for anything so that he can claim innocence in all things. This stems less from maliciousness than from a laziness and lack of maturity that is rooted, ultimately, in a refusal to conform. While this is not a bad thing per se, it is a deeply and understandably irritating thing to the people around him.

The concept of killing vs murder is also a big part of the story. Taking the life of another person is sometimes necessary, it shows, but that doesn't mean that the dead people can't be rightfully pissed off about it. The book doesn't waste much time with angst -- perhaps shockingly considering Ralph's immaturity -- but it doesn't shy away from showing the consequences of bad choices. And oh, the rollicking plot! So unexpected were the twists that I actually gasped aloud at several points in the third chapter (this volume collects the first three issues originally published in French.)

Black Are The Stars was a surprisingly deep comic story with flashes of humor and some unexpectedly great art. It reads more like a contemporary adult fantasy novel than a kids' graphic novel, despite the presentation, and I can't recommend it highly enough for fans of the former genre.

Ralph Azham Vol 1: Black Are The Stars by Lewis Trondheim was published June 28 2022 by Super Genius and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The short take: it's an enjoyable tale in the same vein as the Donjon books, but I'm not sure it's different enough for me to keep reading.

My concerns:
1) Like the Donjon Zenith series, we have a medieval fantasy setting, a goofy creative protagonist who doesn't respect authority, lots of violent yet comedic deaths, and a number of magical artifacts and gifts that follow very specific rules. So, while I enjoy the storytelling, I'm not (yet) seeing a lot that distinguishes the reading experience from Donjon.
2) I believe this is artwork reduced from the classic French album size, and that's a shame, given Trondheim's level of detail.
3) There are plot jumps and assumptions that I sometimes can't follow (although that's often a concern with Trondheim's fiction).

My joys:
4) This appears to be a series that is all Trondheim --- no art from other creators.
5) It's possible this is more of a coherent epic tale than the Donjon series. Unlike the meandering of Donjon, it looks like we are just following Ralph and his family and friends as they battle one big bad.

So, overall, I am half skeptical, half optimistic about upcoming volumes.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky action adventure in a light fantasy medieval setting starring an eclecting cast of characters. Trondheim doesn't shy away from the violence, though it is a bit cartoonish in its depiction. There is ample dark humor that keeps this from really being a kid-friendly story, though it does retain a light-hearted sensibility that will appeal to the inner child of many readers. The approach to fantasy here is more in light with postmodernist takes, with Trondheim more clearly interested in deconstructing fantasy tropes. But that aside, a lot of Ralph Azham does feel like it has been done before.

The art is nice, though my edition seems to have shrunk down the artwork significantly. Since Trondheim's artwork seems to be packed with miniscule details, it did make some of the panels frustratingly difficult to decipher. Overall, I had a good enough time with this, but it also wasn't something that makes me want to immediately seek out the subsequent volumes either.

[Ola G · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 stars

Enjoyable.

A funny, somewhat dark take on human (or sentient) nature in a fantasy/fairy-tale medieval setting, but in an enthusiastically postmodernist fashion. Something like a drunk D&D session where none of the jaded and somewhat cynical players are entirely serious, but neither want they to break the game alltogether - so, I guess, it means a lot of very particular kind of fun. Deconstruction of tropes is as enthusiastic as it is partial, with some stubbornly adhered to to the level of absurdity, which, after all, is a form of deconstruction in itself ;)

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to pass a definite judgement - this is just the first 4th of the full story.

It is very promising: a creative story that keeps on doing unexpected things without feeling contrived. My hunch atm is that I'll give 5 stars when I complete the full series.

Let's hope the final 2 volumes of the English translation will be published sooner than later.


Longer reviews of speculative fiction on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this 3 stars, but the first problem was that the U.S. edition was smaller than the European edition, and I had trouble reading the word balloons. The second problem was the pacing, which has a lot of action happen off screen, with characters telling Ralph about something that happened. This is comic book. Please SHOW us the action, don't have another character tell Ralph about it. But mostly, the reprint is too small.

[D.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was weird, but I liked it.

[Jonas Mustonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kuin Don Rosan ankkatarinan ja Kaspar Keskiyön sekoitus.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Codswallop. The characters frequently declare aloud what they’re doing, robotically. Wild horses couldn’t induce me to read volume 2.

[Ed Erwin]

Not sure how this story can sustain itself for 3 more volumes (each with 3 chapters). But I'm enjoying enough to go on to volume 2.

[Sam D · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fire

[Brent Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a wild ride and with a little effort (it’s very European comics) I enjoyed tagging along.

[Prachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read actually if a bit too cynical for me. A little frustrating that the next few volumes are difficult to get.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good, a bit hard to understand and had some swearing.

[James Loves Gremlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light reading; funny.
glad I decided to pick it up.
small warning that there are one or two “heavier” things that you might not expect from the cover

[Thomas Perscors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minor spoilers.

I read the Fantagraphics edition of RA volume 1 back in 2012, was disappointed when volume 2 failed to appear, and am very happy Super Genius has picked up the title and now published the complete series in four volumes. Fans of Dungeon will find much to love here. The series strikes me as a cross between The Early Years and Zenith. It has the darkness of The Early Years cloaked in the levity of Zenith. An added bonus: unlike Dungeon, the series is written and illustrated entirely by Trondheim. Die-hard fans will likely enjoy comparing the tonal differences of the larger series with the more compact RA. Joann Sfarr’s zaniness is missing, but Trondheim compensates with his own brand of humor. I don’t think I prefer one series to the other. I find the world of RA simpler than Dungeon. Thematic elements are closer to the surface. I also appreciate the trajectory of Ralph’s character from village clown, to chosen one, to abdicator of power.

The series gets stronger as it progresses. Volumes 2 and 3 are probably my favorite (more on that in later reviews). Volume 1 has its own strengths. Chapter 1 gets off to an appropriately slow start but culminates in a grand and surprisingly memorable fashion. I had read chapter 1 over 10 years ago and it has stayed vividly in my memory. Ralph’s personality is established, his childhood as a bluey (blue tinged characters with special powers), and his path forward from being the village idiot sleeping with the pigs to reluctant and impulsive leader.

Readers of Dungeon will notice how Trondheim continues to slyly slip in story details that may be missed on a first reading. I know this annoys some readers, although I enjoy it. It keeps me on my toes. For example, in the first chapter, one of Ralph’s superpowers is introduced rather abruptly, without any hint or foreshadowing and little explanation. I point it out as an example of something that happens relatively frequently in these books, where you will catch yourself wondering, “Wait, what just happened?” And have to go back and reread the last couple pages.

The Vishnu like bluey as chosen one is mocked from the start. Ralph isn’t the only bluey, many failed blueys had come before him. Judging by Ralph’s reception in the village, we are suspicious of the whole concept of blueys and chosen ones. Ralph isn’t Vishnu, even if his power is linked to life (knowing when someone is pregnant) and death (when near a murderer he can see and be assisted by the ghost of the victim). Ralph’s impish personality is established immediately and is worked out in clever ways through the book. In chapter 2 Ralph meets the rest of the blueys who he leads in an escape from the man who will be both his antagonist and dubious ally for the rest of the series. Chapter 3 continues the escape. It won’t be until volume 2 that the story really starts to come together when Ralph takes on the evil plaguing the land and then is faced with the more pressing question of what to do next. All in all, the volume is a lot of fun. Story has all the humor you’d expect, with quite a bit of thematic depth and nuance. Recommended.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A coworker likes this series and this creator a lot. But I am still on the fence. I can appreciate the hard work, the time, and the effort it takes to create something this detailed, involved and creative. However, I am not sure if I like it. The characters are mostly unlikable. Even the kids are not endearing. Yet, that is the point. I think. There are evils and mysteries and secrets and magic. The people are not good or even nice. They are struggling, trying to get what they can, grab power, be soldiers, fathers, thieves, and bullies. There is a medieval setting, but with a modern tone. Some of the bumps I have with the story probably come from it being a translation from French (my eyes & inner reading hearing do not always like translations, by no fault of theirs, just my issues). The other is I am wondering if information is missing, edited or I just missed it. This is not a book you can sit and be distracted while reading. There is a lot going on. There is war, espionage, death, and more. It is not a one shot read; I think reading a second time would not hurt. When talking to my coworker about this graphic novel/comic series, I asked if he thought a Mature TinTin was accurate. He didn't seem to agree, but my point is, it is not the lighter idea of TinTin, it is mature, with murder, violent deaths, and blood. Yet, you will get a chuckle or two as well.

[Mike Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really funny in parts. The print is a little small in places in the edition I read.