In Review: Crusade - The Fire Beaks

The Crusade that has been lost to history reaches its climax in The Fire Beaks, the fourth book of writer Jean Dufaux and artist Philippe Xavier's saga.

The Crusader armies, now lead by the mercenary Lord Of Machines, mass against Hierus Halem. In the city the Saracen leader Sultan Abdul Razim and the Christian noblewoman he is in love with, Syria of Arcos, are visited by the mysterious Mufti of Alkar and they discuss how to prevent the oncoming battle. The Sultan allows Syria to return to the Crusader camp as he prepares to defile the Holy Sepulchre that the Crusaders are fighting for. Meanwhile Syria's former lover, Gauthier of Flanders, leads a Jewish army to Hierus Halem to help the Crusaders, however when they arrive there the death and destruction of the battle for the city has already begun.

The previous three Crusade books have been both delightful and frustrating in equal measures, delightful for Xavier's artwork which highlights both the supernatural sections of the plot and the dynamism of the battles, and frustrating as the complex plot separated its main characters early on, giving them very separate journeys before bringing them back together for this final battle.

The synopsis above merely scratches the surface of what is going on in the 48 pages of this book. Dufaux's story really needs to be read as one long four section saga rather than as four individual books and I think that the threads of the story will bind together better that way rather than read over a longer period - Cinebook have only taken a year to publish all four titles in the series, it took Le Lombard in France two years. The irony of the plot in this book is that while the Crusaders want Hierus Halem (Jerusalem) for themselves, the Master of Machines is only interested in the city as the means to an end, that of acquiring the region beyond it known as the Fire Beaks. The significance of the, until then unexplained, Fire Beaks is left to virtually the final page of the book and it will raise a wry smile in the reader.

Rereading the four books would not be as big a chore as it may sound due to Philippe Xavier's lovely artwork throughout. Xavier's covers are amongst the most striking of any of Cinebook's titles and the way he uses his panels in the battle sequences remains as striking here as it was in the first book. I certainly look forward to seeing if Cinebook decide to publish anymore titles illustrated by Philippe Xavier and there are another two Crusade titles already published in France which begin a new story cycle for Gauthier.

Crusade - The Fire Beaks with its lovely artwork and intriguingly complex plot brings this supernatural saga to a fitting climax which is both political and bloody in fairly even measures.

• The are more details of the Crusade books on the Cinebook website.

• There are more details of the original Croisade books on Le Lombard website (in French) including details of the fifth and sixth books in the series.

• The downthetubes reviews of the previous books in there series are below:
Crusade 1 - Simoun Dja
Crusade 2 - Qa'Dj
Crusade 3 - The Master Of Machines

In Review: Crusade - The Master of Machines

The Crusade that is missing from history continues with its third book The Master Of Machines as writer Jean Dufaux and artist Philippe Xavier continue their complex tale of religion, demons and the quest for control of the Holy Land.

Gauthier of Flanders, in an attempt to ally himself with a Jewish sect, is underground battling a demon known as the Aa while his love, Syria of Arcos, has been saved from the grossly deformed bandit chief Sarek Pasha by Sultan Abdul Razim and taken as his "guest" to Jerusalem. Meanwhile in the Christian camp the mercenary army leader know as the Master Of Machines who was summoned there by Elenore of Arcos, Robert Duke of Taranto's lover and Gauthier's wife, challenges Robert for control of the Crusader army.

Crusade remains in almost equal parts excellent and frustrating. Excellent due to Xavier's lovely artwork and page layouts as well as the complexity of Dufaux's plotting and yet frustrating also for the complexity of the plotting which has three main story strands running at almost full speed at the same time. This book focuses more on Gauthier's battle with the Aa and the Master Of Machines challenge to Robert's command than Syria's plight and yet it places her right where, presumably, a major battle is about to take place.

Xavier's internal artwork continues to remind me of John Bolton's especially his work on The Black Dragon, written by Chris Claremont, which like Crusade mixed Crusader knights with the supernatural, while his cover showing the Master Of Machines remains as striking as the rest of the series. Dufaux's plotting, I suspect, is only frustrating due to not having the whole story available to us and Dufaux having to get so many different characters into place before the final confrontation in the fourth book, The Fire Beaks, named for an area south of Jerusalem where the Master Of Machines considers the true riches of the Holy Land lie.

The Master Of Machines continues Crusade's lovely artwork and complex, if perplexing, plot. With the fourth book due on February 2012 I hope, and fully expect, to be able to say that it was all worth it and that the series deserves a reread from the beginning.

• The are more details of the Crusade books on the Cinebook website.

• There are more details of the original Croisade books on Le Lombard website (in French).

In Review: Crusade - Qa'Dj

The Crusade that is missing from history continues with its second book Qa'Dj, named for the demon that hid in the shadow of Christ's cross. After the massive battle of the first book this time around writer Jean Dufaux and artist Philippe Xavier focus their tale down onto several smaller groups of warriors.

After the Christian army's defeat in the desert in the last book, Gauthier of Flanders attempts to ally himself with a literally underground Jewish sect who fear a demon known as the Aa. Meanwhile Robert, Duke of Taranto, and his lover, Elenore of Arcos, tighten their political grip on the remnants of the Christian army and send Elenore's sister Syria to supposed safety in a desert oasis. Before Syria reaches there she is captured by Muslim bandits controlled by the grossly deformed Sarek Pasha and forced into his harem. Meanwhile Elenore has paid highly for the services of a mercenary army which has arrived lead by the man known simply as the Master of the Machines.

I love Xavier's covers of this series. At no point in this book or the previous one does Syria of Arcos stand holding a spear and the decapitated head of an enemy but that really doesn't matter. With the ghostly image of an astrolabe in the background this cover, like all the covers in this series, is striking in its focus on a single main character. Xavier's interior art is as good as in the first book and his choice of panel layouts remains as interesting as before.

Jean Dufaux's plot in this book alone has three story lines running more or less in parallel with different characters and that isn't even counting the main Muslim force from the first book controlled by Sultan Abdul Razim who just manages to squeeze in here as well. While each story is interesting and they no doubt will pull back together again in the future, the complexity of the book and the sheer number of characters that it takes in can be frustrating. I suspect that Crusade will work better when we have the chance to read all four books back to back and with the third book The Master Of The Machines due in July 2011 and the fourth book The Fire Breaks due in February 2012, Cinebook are already on course to make sure that we can.

While it may remain somewhat perplexing due to the sheer number of characters, Crusade - Qa'Dj continues the series complex but interesting storyline as well as its excellent art and remains a title to watch.

• The are more details of the Crusade books on the Cinebook website.

• There are more details of the original Croisade books on Le Lombard website (in French).

In Review: Crusade - Simoun Dja

Crusade, written by Jean Dufaux and illustrated by Philippe Xavier, is a new series of Franco-Belgian bandes dessinee albums that Cinebook is translating into English for the first time. The first book, Simoun Dja, was originally published in French in 2007 and the series currently runs to four books that Cinebook intend to publish over the next twelve months. Set in the Middle East at the start of the second millennium, it tells of a crusade to the Holy Land that has been left out of the history books.

The holy city of Hierus Halem is controlled by Sultan Abdul Razim and a Christian crusader army led by Gregoire of Arcos has been raised to take it back. Gregoire's power hungry daughter Elenore and Robert, Duke of Taranto, persuade him to lead his army against the Muslims across the desert at the time of the Simoun Dja windstorm. Elenore's husband Gauthier and Gregoire's other daughter Syria realise the futility of attacking during this time but are overruled. Meanwhile Razim uses the powers of the Mufti of Alkar to give his men supernatural protection against the oncoming storm and, as the two armies clash and the storm begins, all does not go well for the Christians.

The book begins with two pages of text outlining the historical reality of the Crusades which takes in rather more that just Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. With this factual grounding writer Jean Dufaux then weaves a complex web of spirits and demons around the Christian and Muslim armies as they battle for control of Hierus Halem/Jerusalem. The political intrigue on the Christian side vies with the supernatural intrigue on the Muslim side as much as the two armies vie with each other on the battlefield and yet, as more and more characters and situations are introduced, you realise that, other than the initial battle, nothing is going to be resolved here, that most of the questions that the story raises are going to be left unanswered.

Philippe Xavier's art is clear and detailed, with his female characters appearing very much in the style of early John Bolton, while his layouts can be remarkably striking. His battle scenes are particularly well laid out with short fast vertical scenes differentiating the chaos of combat from the horizontal and more languid scenes of the battle's aftermath.


Crusade - Simoun Dja seems to be somewhat of a prequel to a bigger story that will happen in the rest of the books of the series and so, despite the complex storyline and excellent art, in itself it feels a little lacking. Yet with any luck this series will blossom as the story continues straight into the second book due to be published in February 2011. It certainly appears on its first outing to be a series worth watching.

• The are more details of Crusade - Simoun Dja on the Cinebook website.

• There are more details of the original Croisade books on Le Lombard website (in French).

Cinebook Announces Titles For Late 2010

Cinebook, the Canterbury based publisher of translated Franco-Belgian graphic novels, have released their catalogue for the second half of 2010 and it includes new series that haven't been translated into English before.

These new series are Long John Silver, written by Xavier Dorison with art by Mathieu Lauffrey, and Crusade, written by Jean Dufaux with art by Phillippe Xavier. Long John Silver is, as you would expect, a sequel to Robert Louis Stephenson's novel Treasure Island set 20 years later while Crusade is a supernatural tale set in the middle ages during a forgotten crusade to the Holy Land. The first Crusade title is Simoun Dja and will be released in October while the first Long John Silver title is Lady Vivian Hastings and it is released in November. Both series are rated 15+ by Cinebook.

The first book in the contemporary thriller XIII series, The Day Of The Black Sun, written by Jean Van Hamme with art by William Vance, is due to be published in May and the new catalogue shows that they will continue to be published at a rate of one book every other month. The series runs to 19 albums and while the first three have previously been translated into English and published in America, Cinebook intend to publish the complete set with the fourth book, SPADS, due in November 2010, the first time that it will have been published in English.

The other big series that Cinebook are be starting is Valerian and Laureline. This is one of the best known and highly regarded Franco-Belgian science-fiction series running to 23 albums. Written by Pierre Christin with art by Jean-Claude Mezieres, the books tell the stories of two spatio-temporal agents, the 28th century born Valerian and his female companion Laureline who comes from the Middle Ages. With both spacecraft and time machines available to them the series has the same potential as Doctor Who for a vast range of settings.

The Valerian and Laureline books have had sporadic English language releases before with the only UK publications being four books published by Hodder-Dargaud in the mid-1980s. Cinebook will be starting with The City Of Shifting Waters which is the first book in the French series although, confusingly, there is a prequel 'Book Zero' that was published afterwards. While the story originally began in Pilote magazine in November 1967 this will be the first time that this particular story has been published in English and Cinebook are releasing it in July.

More details of each series are available on the Cinebook website where the new catalogue is available as a PDF download.