Alexis Deacon, Geis: a matter of life & death, Nobrow Books/Walker Books Australia, 1 Sept 2016, 81pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781910620038
This hard bound graphic novel is the first in a supernatural historical trilogy. It is the story of a battle between the sorcery of death and the slower but hopefully more powerful magic of life. Geis is a Gaelic word for a curse that is always broken, and always sets your fate on a course that cannot be altered. In this story fifty souls are challenged to meet a number of magically-induced tasks in order to uncover the heir to the power of a newly dead chief, Matarka. There are some who feel entitled to inherit, and some who are surprised to be considered.
The panels are rendered in colour, usually moody washes, with 4 strips down a page, but sometimes fewer if the story demands a wider or larger image. To my eye the pages are sometimes too cramped for such detailed and lovingly rendered images.
The blue-robed and big-hearted Kite Lord’s daughter might have a lot to do with who is finally chosen as she works (and fights) to undermine the magic that will set this group three tasks across three books. There are many memorable dramatic panels depicting action, tension, confrontation, and danger in the course of the one night this book spans. If you want to get in on the first of what promises to be an artistic and narrative success, then this is the one to begin with. Recommended for ten to thirteen year olds, and all graphic novel lovers.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy
