{"id":26746,"date":"2022-10-19T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=26746"},"modified":"2022-10-18T16:41:01","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T16:41:01","slug":"rork-the-ghosts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2022\/10\/19\/rork-the-ghosts\/","title":{"rendered":"Rork: The Ghosts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Andreas<\/strong>, coloured by Isa Cochet<\/strong> and translated by Montana Kane<\/strong> (Europe Comics)
\nNo ISBN: digital edition<\/p>\n

Born in January 1951, Andreas Martens is an incredibly versatile artist from East Germany (and from a time when that meant another country, not a different location). He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in D\u00fcsseldorf and the Saint-Luc Institute\/comics school in Brussels. His work appeared in college magazine Le 9e R\u00eave<\/strong><\/em>,<\/em> \u00c0 suivre<\/strong><\/em>, Heavy Metal<\/strong> and Le Journal de Tintin<\/strong><\/em> where – in conjunction with his teacher Eddie Paape – he created the seminal Udolfo.<\/em><\/p>\n

Relocating to France, Andreas adapted the works of Francois Rivi\u00e8re (collected in 1980 as R\u00e9v\u00e9lations Posthumes<\/strong><\/em>) and produced a graphic edition of Charlotte Bront\u00eb\u2019s Jane Eyre<\/strong> for Je Bouquine<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stand-alone works include La Caverne du Souvenir<\/em><\/strong>, Coutoo<\/em><\/strong>, D\u00e9rives<\/em><\/strong> and Azt\u00e8ques<\/em><\/strong>, but his reptation was earned through gripping original series such as Raffington Detective<\/strong>, Cyrrus<\/strong>, Arq<\/strong> and others. His entire oeuvre is steeped in classical style, draped in period glamour and drenched in visual tension. Many are thematically linked. However, before all these, he created one of the most stylish and memorable \u201cChallengers of The Unknown\u201d in horror fiction: enigmatic psychic savant Rork<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

His pale and moody period hero, (who first appeared in Le<\/strong><\/em> Journal de Tintin<\/em><\/strong> in 1978) draws on the tone, time and sometimes even \u201chomaged\u201d content of dark-fantasists August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft and especially the Carnacki<\/strong> stories of William Hope Hodgson. Spiritual nomad Rork wanders the world and great beyond, unravelling mysteries and discovering startling wonders, not for fame or glory, but because he must\u2026<\/p>\n

In the early 1990s Dark Horse Comics serialized his adventures in their superb anthology of European comics Cheval Noir<\/strong><\/em>, and those translations formed the basis of a little seen or remarked upon series of albums from NBM.<\/p>\n

After too long in absentia – that\u2019s past Neverland, a little to the left of Narnia<\/strong> but not as far as The House on the Borderland<\/strong> – the mystic marvel returned in 2017, courtesy of digital-only publishing collective Europe Comics who kicked off what I still hope will be a complete revival by translating into English the final book in the sequence.<\/p>\n

Released in 2012, Les fant\u00f4mes<\/strong><\/em> is a prequel tale, regarded by devotees as volume #0, despite its being preceded by seven spooky tomes and crossovers with other Andreas concepts\u2026<\/p>\n

By this time, readers had learned that the snowy-haired enigma was a wizard from another dimension, compelled to solve supernatural mysteries even as he sought the secret of his own origins: twin quests that carried him all over creation and into scary battles beside many of the author\u2019s other uncanny warriors of justice\u2026<\/p>\n

In this tale – vividly coloured by Isa Cochet (and I make this point as most Rork exploits have appeared in starkly stunning monochrome, in the manner and style of visual pioneers Bernie Wrightson and Jim Starlin) – the wanderer is consulted by Samuel<\/em>, who has been the channel by which unquiet spirits informed the living of missing (and ultimately dead) persons\u2026<\/p>\n

Somehow linked to trees and forests, phantoms came to him ,and Samuel made his living helping others until the day he met Daphne<\/em> and her son Cary<\/em>. These living seekers\u2019 search for a husband and father was for greed, not love or closure, and soured the diviner\u2019s relationship with his ghosts. Now decades later, Samuel convinces Rork to intercede for him\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all altruism, though. The haughty, stubborn finder has been compelled to seek aid since ruthless treasure hunter Tryan<\/em> has begun to threaten torture and worse unless Samuel uses his gifts to unearth hidden wealth. However, when the white wizard uses his own ability to converse with the departed, he hears a subtly different story and realizes he\u2019s being played for a fool\u2026<\/p>\n

Andreas is fascinated by levels of reality and states of comprehension, so Rork tales always come layered with allegorical symbolism, abstract interpretation and trenchant pictorial clues pointing towards deeper meaning. As this story progresses, the mage draws Samuel into verbal duels whilst gradually removing him from the arcadian forests that harbour his ghosts: leading them to an arid desert of the American west where a godlike being offers hints to a greater truth, and where sinister pursuer Tryan falls into a cunning trap\u2026<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Rork divines the truth beneath strata of lies and self-deception and the mystery of Samuel is revealed for all to see\u2026<\/p>\n

For me, a great comic strip begins with the simple line. The greatest drawing is always about the power of black against white. Colour enhances but it seldom creates in our business. Andreas is one of the best line artists in the modern business so I\u2019m delighted to confirm that there\u2019s a stunning \u2018Rork Gallery\u2019<\/em> of seven breathtaking images closing his book.<\/p>\n

Exotic, eccentric, chilling and lyrically beguiling, the traditional mysticism and otherworldly dread of these tales is a heady and captivating brew, especially with the intense, linear illustration and stark design of Andreas to mesmerize and shock your widened eyes.<\/p>\n

Come see for yourselves why this series should be at the top of the list of books to re-release\u2026
\n\u00a9 2017\u00a0\u00c9DITIONS DU LOMBARD (DARGAUD-LOMBARD S. A.) \u2013 ANDREAS. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andreas, coloured by Isa Cochet and translated by Montana Kane (Europe Comics) No ISBN: digital edition Born in January 1951, Andreas Martens is an incredibly versatile artist from East Germany (and from a time when that meant another country, not a different location). He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in D\u00fcsseldorf and … <\/p>\n

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