Mezolith by Ben Haggarty and Adam Brockbank

The world of MeZolith awaits.

10,000 years ago, the Kansa tribe live on the western shores of the North Sea Basin, where danger is never far away. Each season brings new adventure, each hunt has its risks, and each grim encounter with the neighbouring tribe is fraught with threats. Poika, a boy on the verge of manhood, must play his part and trust the strength and wisdom of his elders. This is a tale of beasts and beauty, man, magic and . . . horror. 


I have dragged my feet badly about reviewing this excellent book purely because I can't put into words how much I love it.  But I was spurred to action because of meeting the illustrator very briefly at Thoughtbubble in Leeds this weekend past.  I caught poor Mr. Brockbank at a bad time, as he was quickly eating a sarnie as the crowds around him surged and swayed.  I gushed at him, confessing my utter love for the story and the artwork.  I think I may have scared him.  I felt a bit bad about it and thought that the best way to make up for my lunatic behaviour is to review it on MFB. 


Mezolith is one of the books from DFC - the David Fickling Comics books.  It is also, by far, my most favourite of all of them that I've received to review.  


Ben Haggarty, the author is an incredible storyteller.  The man should be feted and treasured. And then sent to my house to live in the cupboard under the stairs so he can tell me stories.  I digress.  


MeZolith tells the story of Poika, a young boy who is a bit of a dreamer, and who is a bit of a storyteller himself.  One day, as he is strolling through the forest, he comes across a bison grazing quietly by itself in a clearing.  He runs to tell his father and the rest of his clan and initially they make fun of him, but then realise he's telling the truth.  They set out to hunt the animal and warn Poika to stay behind.  Of course, our dreamer would not have that, so he runs off after them.  There is an incident and Poika is badly hurt and taken home where he lies in a deep fever.  An old shaman / medicine woman arrives and offers her help. As Poika balances on the edge of fever dreams and reality, she tells him the story of a three brothers who go hunting and then one day, they come across an abandoned baby. The youngest brother, a boy maybe a bit older than Poika takes the child and cares for it, but soon it is revealed that the child is not what it seems, but a bloodthirsty monster bent on devouring the humans who had taken him in.  The youngest brother immediately takes action and saves the day.  Poika's fever breaks shortly after this and we realise the medicine woman's magics and story helped him turn the corner and he survives the ordeal the gods set before him. 


As you read further you find yourself truly immersed in this ancient landscape that is so familiar yet so alien.  It is the artist, Adam Brockbank, who is to thank for these set pieces that draws the reader in.  It is rare to find an artist and writer who just sync so well together.  Brockbank's palette makes use of matte colours that are predominantly earth colours, to reflect the deep relationship Poika's tribe has with nature around them.  It is when his palette changes slightly to accommodate Haggarty's story that you realise how deeply visual this graphic novel is.  The images stayed with me for far longer than I expected and some of the frames are perfect enough to put in a frame for display. 


MeZolith consists of interlocking stories or chapters rather, that introduce us to various members of Poika's small tribe and their day to day lives.  And each chapter can be seen as life-lesson for Poika and to be honest, not all of them are pleasant. My favourite however has to be the story of the Swan Bride.  It is a retelling of a very very old fairy tale about the young man who falls in love with a beautiful young woman who also happens to be a swan.  The story is so deeply archetypal and touching, so that every time I open the book, I am lost in that specific chapter and I cry a little at its sheer magic. 


I cannot recommend MeZolith highly enough - even if you have never read a graphic novel before in your life, this book will change your opinion.  It is deeply evocative and will make a wonderful gift for someone who is perhaps a reluctant reader.  The art and the words are married incredibly well and even if reading wasn't your favourite thing in the world, the pictures are strong enough to be taken on their own merit to tell the story. 


It is rare for me to slaver at the mouth about a graphic novel but this one is remarkable. It is one of my most treasured books and lives with all my other books on fairy tales and fairy tale retellings.  No one else is allowed to touch, and if they do, it is with permission only and with very clean hands.  If you have the opportunity to look at it in a local bookshop, do so.  Find the chapter with the Swan Bride and read it.  And then come and tell me you couldn't resist buying it. 


I am incredibly grateful to David Fickling for sending me this to review.  I am also deeply apologetic to Adam Brockbank for slavering at the mouth when I spoke to him, but I do think I managed to handsell a copy to that young man who stood listening to me gushing. 

Thoughtbubble

I stumbled across Thoughtbubble purely by chance- I think it noted on a friend's Facebook update- and, since Liz was going to be off gallivanting with the SCBWI crowd in Winchester over the weekend, I quickly signed up... although I freely admit that the guest list was a significant factor in the decision making process!

After hauling myself out of bed on Saturday morning, I wolfed down my breakfast, said my farewells and trudged down to the station to start my journey to King's Cross and from there to Leeds. Apart from the unexpected complication of Kings Cross tube being closed, necessitating a bracing walk from Euston, it was pretty painless all in all. The train wasn't very full at all, letting me sprawl across two seats; it was also clean, quiet and a lot faster than it would have been by car! I grabbed a large coffee from the trolley and settled back with Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda, which I've been meaning to read for ages- I'm sorry I didn't do it earlier, it's a fantastic read! I almost finished by the time we rolled into Leeds, having only managed to tear myself from the pages to stuff some Jaffa Cakes into my mouth since we left London.

Anyway, after an amusing exchange with a local taxi driver which saw me paying £3.90 to be driven around the block and him losing his precious place in the taxi queue (he could have just told me to take a left and walk 300 yards..) I checked in at my hotel, stashed my bag, freshened up and decided to take a walk to the Armories rather than another taxi.

This way I got to see a bit of the city- I quite liked the feel of it, which surprised me and my pre-conceived ideas of the North a bit. I arrived at Saviles Hall in good time and picked up my ticket, which I had pre-booked via the website- I was impressed with the organisation- within 30 seconds of arriving I had my tickets & programme and was set loose on the jam packed hall.

It was crammed with exhibitors, fans and cosplayers, all of whom seemed to be in good spirits, which must've rubbed off as I hardly felt the urge to lash out when I got poked in the eye by a scythe and subsequently slapped in the nuts by somebody's wayward scabbard. I did a couple of circuits to see what was what before settling in for a bit of serious browsing, although I was torn by the choice of rifling through loads of cool stuff or joining the constantly replenishing lines of fans queueing up for signatures and sketches.

After an hour or so of this I got a seat for the "Do zombies read comics" panel, a discussion on the rising and/or continuing popularity of zombies in comics and horror. I figured it'd be interesting, given my known predilection for the shambling hordes, and would give me a chance to hear Ben Templesmith, Antony Johnson, Charlie Adlard & Sean Philips answering the questions I would've like to have asked- but without queueing for the next 6 hours.

The discussion was interesting.. there were a couple of questions that fell a bit flat (Sean Philips stating that he couldn't really offer a further opinion because he'd never seen a zombie movie in his life and wasn't interested in reading horror either certainly squashed a couple of threads) but the questions from the audience, which I was lucky enough to hear as I was in the front row (next year get wireless mic's guys), prompted some interesting discussions about the pros and cons of using zombies, and trying to create the right atmosphere for horror in a comic format.

After the panel, it was back to (sh)ambling around the hall and visiting the sister site around the corner where the remaining talks were being held, and which would also be the venue for the after party. Here too things were running smoothly, with several volunteers about to keep everyone moving.

So, all in it was a really good day- when I did eventually get to chat with some of the artists, they were friendly and enthusiastic, even after a long day and several hundred sketches down the line. It's always cool to see writers and artists giving something back to their fans like that, and being so gracious about it. It really makes it a pleasure to be, and stay, a fan.

An abundance of keen exhibitors, ranging from independent artists and writers, to the long established ports of call like Travelling Man, meant that the trade stands were varied and each had something new and different to catch your eye, made it a browser's paradise. The talks/ panels were equally varied and very popular and the large guest list meant that no matter what your particular poison was, the was someone there who you'd want to see.

Hats off to the crew who kept things running behind the scenes - and a big thank you to the lovely Red Bull girls who braved the elements and kept my caffeine levels at a high enough level not to get snarly every time a squealing Pokemon careened into me.

The after party was pretty much open to all, and apart from the bar running out of draught, was a pretty relaxed affair. I migrated to one of the couches and had the first of many beers, getting caught up in a wide ranging conversation with immensely affable and erudite Mike Carey, Martin Conaghan and friends. Typically, I spent most of it just grinning quietly and sipping my beer.. a trend which followed me all the way through to the late night bar in our hotel where I wound up discussing the allure of Steampunk with Bryan Talbot and pimping Scott Westerfield's Leviathan.

I just I'd been introduced before the third bottle of Leffe.

All in though, it was a great way to wrap up a day which had exceeded my expectations by a very comfortable margin. I'll definitely be going again next year!