Beyond Borders: Parry And Thrust

You may not be able to read LE SCORPION, but you can still look at Enrico Marini's stunning artwork. Ninth Art torments its readers with another great work not yet available on the Anglophone market.
29 December 2003

I think I was five years old. It was the usual case of an impressionable kid watching something that defines what he wants to become in the years to come. TV was showing THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains and the mighty Errol Flynn.

From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be in like Flynn; fighting Basil Rathbone, sailing the seven seas, taking my cock out at a Hollywood party and playing the piano with it. Errol Flynn represents a higher kind of adventure, whose influence has spawned animals as different as the INDIANA JONES trilogy, the original STAR WARS, and even elements of Chris Claremont's UNCANNY X-MEN.

Sadly Hollywood, isn't much interested in that kind of adventure anymore. Despite recent successes like THE MASK OF ZORRO and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, it seems Hollywood has turned its back on that breed of formidable villains, lovable damsels in distress, and knights in shining armour. Swashbuckling has become passé; the classic Errol Flynn-esque hero has been replaced by he-man macho icons like The Rock and Vin Diesel, and wits and finesse have been forsaken in favour of technology and might.

This are the days we have to live in. So thank god for LE SCORPION.

LE SCORPION is the lovechild of bande desinée best sellers Stephen Desberg and Enrico Marini. It's a way to show their love for the classic 30s Hollywood pictures, the Jean Marais movies, the Alexander Dumas novels, and the romantic heroes of their - and our -childhoods.

Despite its compelling story, the selling point of LE SCORPION is definitely its art. With thirty years experience, Enrico Marini has become one of the most important artists in the world of bande desinée. His style is dynamic, detailed and extremely kinetic, showing a great amount of manga influences flowing through his classic European style. Its visuals are pure eye candy; he masters landscapes and anatomy and can draw virtually everything.

A keen admirer of Moebius and Herrmann, Marini debuted with LES DOSSIERS D'OLIVIER VARESSE for a Swiss imprint, then joined writer Thiery Smolderen to make the sci-fi, apocalyptic actioneer GIPSY, his longest running and more manga influenced work. He's also worked on the Western L'ETOILE DU DESERT, his first collaboration with Desberg, and the highly successful RAPTORS, a lavishly illustrated Vampiric-themed thriller (released in English by NBM) that, after a couple interesting albums story-wise, sadly disappeared up its own arse, and saw its plot swallowed by Marini's lush pencils.

Writer Stephen Desberg was born in Belgium and started working on comics in 1976 for TINTIN magazine. He soon moved on to other magazines, like the classic SPIROU. His other works include the lauded LA VACHE (THE COW) and BILLY THE CAT, both targeted at a young audience (BILLY THE CAT even led to an animated TV series). More adult efforts have included LE SANG NOIR, LE 27EME LETRE, and the aforementioned first collaboration with Marini, L'ETOILE DU DESERT.

What both creators obviously intended with LE SCORPION was a homage to all the swashbuckling heroes of our childhood. And, sacre bleu, they nailed it! LE SCORPION tells the story of an, ahem, tomb raider, a gatherer of Catholic relics in the XVIII century; skilled with the sword and witty with the tongue; devilish with the ladies; a courageous, honourable, bon vivant, a charming scoundrel with a mysterious past and some truly formidable foes. He has no memory of his past, and of course, that little fact comes to haunt him, in this case in the person Cardinal Trebaldi, an obvious heir of Alexander Dumas' legendary interpretation of Cardinal Richelieu, hungry for the papal seat and willing to seize power it any means necessary.

So we have a brave ruffian as the hero, a cunning villain - what else does a story like this need? Oh yeah, the comic relief sidekick (an overweight Hussar); the not-so-evil, not-so-redeemable, voluptuous villainess (a poisonous Egyptian woman named Maji); the henchmen (the exceptionally designed Warrior Monks); the master henchman; tons of young courtiers and floozies ready to throw themselves into the arms of Le Scorpion; the good Pope; and the incompetent law enforcers (in this instance, the Swiss Guard). It's by-the-book swashbuckling adventure, of course, but throw in a compelling plot full of historical references and intriguing mysteries and some first rate characterization, and you're in for quite a ride. In the hands of any decent artist, you'd be sure to get a fine, entertaining comic. But with Enrico Marini on board, it becomes something so much more.

From the moment you open the hardcover, this comic storms your senses. Four pages of simple sketches show you a glimpse of what's to come. Insanely detailed vistas of Rome, glamorous character designs, vivid depictions of historical locales; every single thread of lace in every single Venetian shirt seems to have been perfectly captured. It's amazing.

And it doesn't stop there. Marini's manga-esque, electric storytelling grabs your hand and takes you on a trip deep inside Le Scorpion's world, making you jump from the roofs of the Vatican to the dark alleyways of the slums, and from the lovely hills of the outskirts to the luxurious villas of the high and mighty. It's like stepping in to the set of SCARAMOUCHE, to bear witness to die-hard duels where ripostes, parries and thrusts are drawn with swords and forked tongues. It's THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, CAPTAIN BLOOD, and THE CRIMSON PIRATE. It's Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn and Stewart Granger. It's THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF mixed with BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF.

This comic will not change the shape of the world. Some may even dismiss it as no more weighty than a summer blockbuster. But reading through it, you get transported to another world. A more fabulous world, with damsels in distress and harrowing tales of impossible dangers. And with heroes. Amazing heroes. It is, without any shadow of a doubt, one of the most entertaining comics out there, and also one of the most beautifully drawn.

While there's currently no English edition available, there is a glimmer of hope to be found in the fact that NBM was willing to reprint even the worst of RAPTORS. Meanwhile, if your French is any good, Dargaud has published nice soft-cover editions of the first three volumes. You can also catch a few additional art samples from the comic's own website.

Now if you will forgive me, Mesdames and Messieurs, I have a date with some shady individuals eager to taste my blade.

En garde!

Marcos Castrillón is a translator and interpreter, and a freelance writer for the Spanish magazine NEMO.

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