Okko: The Cycle of Earth

Okko #3-4

by Hub

It is the Winter of 1109 in the official calendar of the Pajan Empire. Okko and his faithful companions - the mysterious masked Noburo, Noshin the monk and young Tikku - arrive at the City of the Blasting Powder. While seeking a guide to help them cross the perilous chain of the seven monasteries, they meet a skillful Mow of the Wind. Okko and his companions seek the Forbidden Libraries of the Eighth Monastery on the Roof of the World, but the way is dangerous, and the ancient powers of the Earth demand a blood sacrifice when awoken.

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

106 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2008

About the author

Pen name of Humbert Chabuel.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of the collected Okko is even better than the first, with a more engaging story based on a reclusive sect of necromantic monks. Hub decorates this creepy tale with all the trappings: forbidden libraries, female samurai, and combat bunraku (puppets). It's all a lot of goofy fun, but Hub is a genuinely talented illustrator, and his lush, colorful panels are adorned with plenty of action and beautiful landscapes in the style of medieval Japan. This is a great export from the European comics scene, and it's a treat to follow a series as competently executed as is Okko.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zpočátku jsem měl pocit, že Cyklus země bude horší než předchozí Cyklus vody. Po téměř dvacet stran hrdinové komiksu bez pořádné či pochopitelné motivace bloudili horami a já jsem už ani nedoufal, že mě to začne bavit. Ale začalo. Nakonec se to ukázalo být akčnější než předchozí Cyklus a rozjela se příjemně mystická řežba. Celá série má velmi specifickou atmosféru. To vyprávění je v něčem velmi zvláštní a já nedokážu přesně říci v čem. Možná je to v tom, že přestože si k hrdinům příběhu vytvoříte vztah, tak se o nich nic osobního nedozvíte. A nebo je to přesně naopak - přestože se o nich nic moc nedozvíte a neznáte jejich minulost, tak i přesto si k nim vytvoříte vztah. No je to zvláštní, ale bavil jsem se.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the four book Okko graphic novel series. The illustration in this series has been top notch; this volumes continues some wonderful world-building and has a very well done plot.

This book follows Okko and his companions Noboru (crazy fighter in mask), Noshin (the sake loving monk) and Tikku (young boy from the first book) as they continue on their quest to hunt down the pirates/demons that took Tikku’s sister. In this book they arrive at the City of Blasting Powder and find they must navigate a series of seven dangerous monasteries. During their travels they find that the monastery they seek lies outside of the sevens monasteries and is a mysterious eighth monastery on the Roof of the World. At the eighth monastery they must find the Forbidden Library if they are to continue on in their quest.

My favorite part about this graphic novel was the amazing illustration and the excellent world building. The whole story takes place in the Pajan Empire which has a very Asian feel to it. The characters are all mysterious and interesting. The majority of the story is told from Tikku’s point of view (he narrates the story but from the future looking back into the past).

There are some crazy demons and the characters stumble upon a number of perils during their journey; so as you can imagine there is a lot of action in this story. We also meet a new female samurai and she was a great addition to the story.

I do have a couple of complaints. There are a lot of characters in here that look similar, so sometimes it is hard to keep track of who is who (you really really have to concentrate and pay attention). Additionally text and drawings are a bit small and hard to see/read. I have to read these books under really good bright light or I have trouble seeing detail in the drawings. I am reading this as a hardcover, so it should be full size.

This story ends at an excellent point and I am curious to see what the third book, The Cycle of Air, has in store for us.

Overall this was a very well done fantasy graphic novel. The illustrations are amazingly detailed and beautiful and I love the world created here. The characters are mysterious and engaging as well. The characters do look a bit the same and there are a lot of them, so sometimes the story is a bit hard to follow. I would recommend this series to fans of historical fantasy graphic novels. If you like Okko I also recommend Vinland Saga which is a historical manga that I love even more than the Okko series.

[Arnaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graphics as great as ever, and a twisted plot around the Mon of Crows

[Greymalkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes that once it got past the "establish the characters and world" clunkiness in the first book we'd get a bit more complexity or better pacing. But alas no. I kept waiting for there to be some sort of entertaining twist or something but no, it's just a slog to the end of a plot that you can see the answer and resolution to in the first few pages. Huh, there are 7 temples? What are the chances they are going to have to go visit every single one and yet not find what they seek until the last one gives them a clue? 100%, apparently.

The female characters were even more frustrating in this book, though at least there were some, and they got to speak and at one of them even got through the whole book without having to show her naked breasts but... eh. That's not exactly parity. The art continues to be pretty good but lacks dynamism, trying to make up for it with lots of swooshy lines and words not in speech bubbles, but it's almost impossible to follow the action panel to panel and it skips and jumps oddly in time and location. It would be fine if it's a stylistic thing (like trying to imitate woodblock prints) but it's not. I can see why some enjoy this, there are elements that are fine, but it's not for me.

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt in love with Okko lore and looked forward to second book. The art is rock steady, the same sharp perfectly drawn lines with spot on colouring with changing vividness from pastel-bright to pale colours (and I love how the undead and "evil monks" looks). The story is always excellent, but first half I had bid of a struggle with dialogues, long texts (not necessary bad) are stiff and not so easily digested as in first book. On top of that, the part with travelling over mountain monasteries has plenty of them. Even this was bit of a struggle, the book as whole is very nice, the story is beautiful with both heartbreaking and heart-warming end. The style of storytelling from young monk's point of view (in his elderly years now), adding nice closure over other characters and how their destiny was, is very comforting. This is beautiful.

[Marco Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again a good story with good art is delivered. I recommend this book. It's a pity that there are not enough people reviewing this saga on their youtube channels. The fact that it is a french bande dessinée says a lot, unfortunately. Hope to see this adapted to an animated series one day. I still haven't understood what with the cocoons inside the battle bunrakus...

[andrew y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forget Ninjai. I'd kickstart this r-rated animated epic so hard it'd make Double Fine Adventure look like an amateur project.
I'm not sure what that means either but this is excellent.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing adventure.

Fantastic art, backgrounds especially. But the whole thing has a charming, amiable style.

I think I prefer this volume, due to the snowbound mountains, the cliff side monasteries, the ancient libraries, the ghouls, the sorcerers, and the wood elementals.

We learn a little bit about Noshin’s alcoholic past, get one hint about Okko, and still know not a thing about Noburo.

The quest begins with a cryptic, dying message, and leads the heroes into the mountains in search of a secret order of monks who bear the sigil of a raven.

SPOILERs


Okko and friends visit each of the 7 monasteries in turn and then, with the help of a rat man, discover a hidden 8th monastery and from there track one of the evil monks to an abandoned mine — the “attic of corpses.” Ultimately they discover that the monks are necromancers; they plot to take over Pajan with an army of undead. The sight of these skeletal fiends in armor charging through snow is splendid. The concluding battle, which features a bright red “scarab” puppet armor, is resolved by the heroic sacrifice of the little rat man, who did more than anyone to achieve the goal, despite receiving considerable ill treatment.

/SPOILER

Like many BD, this is a story that succeeds on the strength of its art and concept designs. The plot moves quickly, always keeping things fresh, has a strong central mystery, and highlights terrifying enemies. All designed to facilitate the art.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, and eagerly snapped this one up. That one introduced the titular ronin, and his travelling companions: a consistently tipsy priest, a masked oversized warrior who seems to be able to regenerate, and a young novice priest whose sister was kidnapped and they are trying to find. The first book took place largely on and around water, and here the feudal Japan-inspired setting shifts to mountains.

Seeking information about the disappearance of bodies from battlefields, they arrive at a mining city and encounter some deadly basket-masked sorcerer-monks. From there, the story takes them on a trek through the mountains to visit seven different monasteries. Along the way, they pick up new allies in the form of a one-armed lady samurai and her talking rat-companion, and hire a mercenary to guide them. Battles with the undead ensue, as they play a game of cat and mouse with more basket-masked sorcerers, only to eventually arrive at a secret eighth monastery/archive.

The story mixes action, magic, and sneaking around perfectly, reminding me of the best kind of D&D adventures. There is some word-dense backstory crammed into the final third or so of the book, but generally it moves along nicely. Like most translations of European BD, this combines two shorter books to provide the complete story. But what makes the series special is the artwork -- absolutely gorgeous in creating a sense of place, with incredible attention to detail in each panel. Where most books treat backgrounds as empty spaces that the reader's eyes will gloss over, this has stunning amounts of interest, with servants, decor, and texture lurking at every edge. Love this series!

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This can be read as a standalone without any problem but it’s better to read Volume 1 first. For those not familiar with the setting the story is based on a medieval-themed Japanese style kingdom only it’s full of mystic arts, magic and puppet controlled robots.

This volume is better than the first one, we get to discover more of the interesting world. New characters have joined our adventure seeking group, while we still have not yet discovered the past of our core group. I for one would like to know more about them, who and what they are, a little dig into their past would be welcomed. This story has more humor and intrigue as compared to previous one. Loved the ending, it had a nice clever touch to it.

The best part of the Graphic Novel is still the art, each of the page with its 5-7 panels deserve a page by itself, they are that detailed and well-drawn. The art is refreshing as it’s very different from the earlier volume which was based on an island, sea-based adventure; this time around we are in snowy mountains. Looking forward to what is stored in the next volume.

[Salamah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good graphic novel story. It is full of adventure, fighting and strange monsters. Noburo is my favorite character as he is funny as heck! The problem is that I read book 2 and did not realize there was a book 1. The other problem is that I cannot find book 3 anywhere!!! I am still going to read book 1 though and then write a proper review for book 1 and 2.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this the same Hub that wrote ‘Ducks backyard’ ? It was a children's book and the writing was incredibly better. The story telling is just not working well and the fight scenes are horrendous. But hey, art is still beautifully done. Also i don’t comprehend how the elements are actually integrated into the story enough to be in the titles of each book.

3.2✨

[Nicholas Siebers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one more than the first one, although it still feels rushed at times, with important doings happening in panels that are too small to make the story clear. I did enjoy it, and will keep going with the series.

[Rafaela Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnifique l'histoire du petit rat, j'ai été touchée. Normalement, je n'aime pas les rats, mais la c'était pas possible de ne pas l'apprécier. Noburo qui survit a la mort, m'a trop impressionnée aussi, j'aimerais bien en savoir plus sur son histoire.

[Kate Dostálová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okko, Noburo, Nošin a Tikku se vydávají do sedmi klášterů, aby našli tajemné mnichy, kteří mají ve znaku havrana. Žádný takový řád by však neměl existovat. Najmou si průvodce po horách a vydají se na cestu. V horách se začnou dít zvláštní věci a dozví se i pár podivných legend.

[Ira Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hub continues his story of the world of Feudal Pajan, still engrossing but not as good as the first volume.

[Pogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to have to look for the other books. I liked the myth of this story.

[Johnny Mattei · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!

I can’t stop seem to put this book down, it’s so good and beautifully illustrated. I can’t wait to finish the series.

[Jorge Schumacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel de fantasia ambientada no Japão feudal, com arte muito boa e história bem contada.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story and characters are page turners, and the illustration is beautiful, this series is easy to like.

[Adam Šilhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Přijde mi hrozně samoúčelný styl vyprávění, kde moudrý stařec celé album vzpomíná na příběh. Zvlášť, když tam není nějaká zřejmá paralela s dobou, ve které vzpomíná.

Jinak je příběh hezky čtivý.

[Odo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5.0

[Isabel Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chulos los dibujos y la aventura entretenida.

[Carl Grider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. The art grabs me!

[Przemek S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scenariusz: 3/5
Rysunki: 4/5
Ocena: 3.5/5
Momentami za dużo tekstu w pojawiających się wspomnieniach.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(l’analyse française au-dessous)
Okko, Noburo, Tikku and Noshin, in search of Little Carp, find themselves at the city of Bakuyaku where the last festival before winter is in full swing. While there, they seek out a guide to take them over the mountains towards the north of the country – until a man comes desperately to Okko with a tale of mysterious people with the mark of the crow. With his dying breath, he asks Okko to warn his lord Setzuka Bashimon…

I found the initial journey from one monastery to another somewhat tedious, but I also know that this is a normal and necessary trope in the great histories and fables like Okko. But, with these little journeys before the expanded group arrives at the mountain Roof of the World, we meet the incredibly strong women Cutting-the-Wind and Setsuka Bashimon – two singular, strong, and – more surprising in this society – autonomous women. When the expanded group comes to the Roof of the World, the story became much more interesting, and I had a hard time putting it down.

The adepts of the sect wearing the emblem of the crow are an evil enemy but at the same time, interesting. Let’s give a warm welcome to zombies in this book! What will it take to destroy such an enemy, who has this power over death? What will be the sacrifice in order to win?

I also like that we read this history from the adult eyes of Tikku, with his reflections at thoughts. What’s more, the art is very detailed and beautiful.

J’ai trouvé le voyage initial d’un monastère à un autre un peu ennuyeux, mais je connais aussi que ceci est un trope quotidien et nécessaire dans les grands histoires et fables comme Okko. Mais, avec ces petits voyages avant que la groupe agrandie arrivent sur le montagne Toit du Monde, on rencontre les incroyablement fortes mesdames Fauche-le-Vent et Setzuka Bashimon – deux femmes singulières, formidables, et -- plus surprenantes dans cette société -- autonomes. Quand la groupe agrandie s’approche au Toit du Monde, l’histoire est devenu beaucoup plus intéressant, et j’ai eu du mal à m’arrêter à lire.

Les adeptes du secte portant l’emblème du corbeau sont un ennemi mauvais mais au même temps, intéressant. Bienvenu au mort-vivant dans ce tome ! Qu’est-ce qui est nécessaire pour détruire un tel ennemi, qui a ce pouvoir sur la morte ? Quel en sera le sacrifice pour gagner ?

J’aime aussi qu’on lise cette histoire des yeux du Tikku comme adulte, avec ses réflexions et pensées. En plus, l’art est très détaillé et beau.

[Paula ϟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is the next story arc, The Cycle of Earth, for our ronin, Okko, and his gang of adventurers. It takes place over a harsh winter of Panjan. The artwork is beautiful once again, just like the first volume. I loved the rough-around-the-edges Skyrim feel this story presents. Okko and his companions travel through great heights past temples, ruins, and abandoned mines to track down the clues that will enlighten them on the path to their quest. In this story, the gang is investigating a secret sect of monks who bear the sign of the raven. There is mystery, sorcery, adventure, and a looming peril. I loved the pacing of the plot and it was easy to follow along with. Noshin, the monk, is absolutely hilarious. So far, this is a really unique series and I can't wait to read the next volume.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe its something lost in the French to English translation but I just didn't get into this story (even though there are new and more interesting characters). And why was everyone so down on the Rat from the beginning?

The team started to remind me of Inuyasha in this book, and maybe if its been called "Noburo" instead of "Okko" I'd have been more interested. Even the conflict between the characters was less heated than it should've been. Bottom line: I just didn't care for whatever reason.

Now the question is whether or not I'l read the third volume. I think I read this one after the first because I hoped we'd get to see more character development, but if Hub doesn't answer some of my remaining questions in The Cycle of Air I will not be pleased...

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is beautiful, just as it was in the first volume of Okko. This time, the team of demon hunters travels through the snowy mountains of Pajan, a Japan-like fantasy world. The story in this volume is a bit weaker than the first volume. There is a long section towards the beginning in which the team travels from monastery to monastery to find some vital information for their mission. At each monastery they are told to visit the next monastery. While the scenery is beautiful, it feels like treading water a bit at the beginning. Also, there is a running joke between two of the side characters that wears a bit thin. Overall, it's weaker than the first volume, but if you enjoyed the first one, you'll probably enjoy this one as well.