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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
2.0
Disclaimer: Read via Netgalley
I guess I am the wrong type of audience for this comic book, sorry graphic novel. This edition collects the El Cid stories that ran in Eerie magazine. In the 1970s, and, boy, can you tell that the comic ran in the 1970s.
I found the black and white illustrations to be far more compelling than the actually story lines. Perhaps this is because El Cid has a tendency to refer to women as his nymphs as opposed to actually acknowledging that women might have names. Quite frankly, I find the phrase delicate entrails to be a trend, well, irregular.
And I guess that is the problem that the modern women reader will have with this graphic novel. The female characters look alike with little clothes, strong thighs, and heavenly beasts. The Cid, who was known for his piety at least in legend, is little more than James Bond without the gadgets and wearing a cross instead of suits.
The best story, to my mind, is the first which is a version of Three Billy Goats Gruff, but the Cid in that version is radically different from the character that appeals in the other stories. The first story is also darker in terms of emotion, despite the fact that the Cid is the traditional knight and lack nymphs in this one. It has to do with tolls and cost, and possess a sense of humor that is not found in the other stories. In the later stories he is Conan, but by another name. I suppose that is fine, but it doesn’t work for me.
In terms of a curiosity as possessed by the reader, and in terms of artwork, this graphic novel is worth looking at. If you love those fantasy and science fiction women that have been their way into so many illustrations you will like this as well. But I can see why this succeed in the 70s, and not so much today. In terms of development of a genre, it is worth reading. The art is stunning at times.
The plot fails because it feels like the Cid realizes he is being a stand in for another type of character. This is not the movie with Sofia Loren and Charlton Hesston. It is pulp. Which in and of itself isn’t bad, but is an acquired taste.
I guess I am the wrong type of audience for this comic book, sorry graphic novel. This edition collects the El Cid stories that ran in Eerie magazine. In the 1970s, and, boy, can you tell that the comic ran in the 1970s.
I found the black and white illustrations to be far more compelling than the actually story lines. Perhaps this is because El Cid has a tendency to refer to women as his nymphs as opposed to actually acknowledging that women might have names. Quite frankly, I find the phrase delicate entrails to be a trend, well, irregular.
And I guess that is the problem that the modern women reader will have with this graphic novel. The female characters look alike with little clothes, strong thighs, and heavenly beasts. The Cid, who was known for his piety at least in legend, is little more than James Bond without the gadgets and wearing a cross instead of suits.
The best story, to my mind, is the first which is a version of Three Billy Goats Gruff, but the Cid in that version is radically different from the character that appeals in the other stories. The first story is also darker in terms of emotion, despite the fact that the Cid is the traditional knight and lack nymphs in this one. It has to do with tolls and cost, and possess a sense of humor that is not found in the other stories. In the later stories he is Conan, but by another name. I suppose that is fine, but it doesn’t work for me.
In terms of a curiosity as possessed by the reader, and in terms of artwork, this graphic novel is worth looking at. If you love those fantasy and science fiction women that have been their way into so many illustrations you will like this as well. But I can see why this succeed in the 70s, and not so much today. In terms of development of a genre, it is worth reading. The art is stunning at times.
The plot fails because it feels like the Cid realizes he is being a stand in for another type of character. This is not the movie with Sofia Loren and Charlton Hesston. It is pulp. Which in and of itself isn’t bad, but is an acquired taste.
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