Let me tell you a quick story about how brutal Kirkus Reviews can be.
When Dave Eggers published his memoir “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” – a book that would become a Pulitzer Prize finalist – Kirkus reviewed it with just two savage words:
“It isn’t.”
That’s Kirkus for you. They’re the Simon Cowell of the literary world, famous for destroying books with a single sentence. Which is why I’m still trying to process what they just said about “The Lesser Evil.”
Not only did they like it. They called it “an offbeat and often compelling pairing of plot and illustration.”
Before I share their complete review (every word of it), let me tell you why this matters. When Kirkus praises something, it’s like getting a standing ovation from your harshest critic. However, they do have some criticisms regarding the experimental silent comic book section. You can read them for yourself below.
Here’s their complete, unedited review (spoilers below):
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BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF: THE LESSER EVIL
By Ezra LC and Wes Al-Dhaher
Illustrated by Aurelio Mazzarra
In a turbulent Constantinople in the 15th century, a young noble has terrifying encounters with the city’s shadowy elite in this illustrated historical fantasy.
LC and Al-Dhaher’s curious tale begins with a contextualizing introduction in which the Ottoman Empire has emerged victorious from a brutal nine-year war. Sultan Mehmed I continues to rebuild his empire and reclaim former territories, leaving the Byzantine Empire’s independence “hanging from a thread.” Constantinople remains a culturally bustling fortress, where a shadowy group called The City of the Angel seeks “to ensure Christian dominance…at any cost.” Rumors circle of “people being sucked into the earth,” hinting at a supernatural force menacing the night.
Nikephoros, a young lord, leads a pampered life in Constantinople with a clear path to becoming an archon (ruler). He is a diligent student, somewhat coddled by his mother, Polychronia, and reluctant to follow his best friend, Adam, into trouble. Adam, who’s less wealthy and possesses a more daring spirit than his friend, leads them to explore a concealed tunnel in the city. Plagued by nightmares of a “slender, too-tall figure,” Nikephoros reluctantly follows his friend into an ancient place to seek The City of the Angel.
During their exploration, the figure from Nikephoros’s nightmare appears, and tragedy ensues; Nikephoros is left in a daze, suspecting his mother of involvement in the incident. Polychronia encounters Fausta, a sharp-toothed member of the organization, who reports that it “has their eye on” Nikephoros. The stakes rise as the reader learns of Nikephoros’ fate through wordless illustrations—he will become a gladiator who battles grotesque beings for the wolfish Fausta and The City of the Angel’s entertainment, leading to a bloody showdown.
The work is unusual in how it clearly values the storytelling power of words and images equally. Mazzarra’s grayscale illustrations form the second half of this novella, and their skillful use of light and shade helps to emphasize Fausta and the clandestine organization’s dark intentions. As Polychronia is forced to hand her son over to The City of the Angel, her emotion is palpable, with tears and blood freely flowing.
On one page, Mazzarra’s images depict the fanged members of this many-armed group, and their collective power is effectively contrasted with individual portraits of the story’s main players, Fausta and Nikephoros; the young lord is given a haunting blank-faced mask to wear in the arena. Readers experience the monstrosity of the transformed bodies and the braying crowd thanks to a close-up illustration of Nikephoros’ frightened eye as he joins two other reluctant fighters.
In multipaned pages and alternating close-ups and wide shots, Mazzarra’s images add layers of visceral emotion to the book’s portrayal of this dark underworld. Still, despite the engaging mystery of the text and the excellence of the illustrations, this novella would have likely packed a stronger punch if the images were captioned, which would have kept the story’s intricacies from potentially getting lost.
An offbeat and often compelling pairing of plot and illustration.
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The page where you can get the book should be ready in a couple of weeks, inshaAllah.
Wes
