Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 100

Geek Syndicate
COMIC REVIEW

Peter Pan
For the first time this six-volume series has been translated into English and collected in one cloth-bound, omnibus edition. Th rough his emotive and engaging artwork, Loisel offers a unique take on a well-known tale that goes into a grim and dark world; the type of childhood where not growing up is not an option. Don’t even think about skipping this one. I know you’re rolling your eyes and muttering about “kids stuff” but don’t be fooled. This is a labor of love that truly deserves your attention. The whole tale was written & illustrated by multiple awardwinning comics creator Regis Loisel between 1990 and 2004. Bizarrely, despite its universal acclaim for artistry and incisive themes, the work has never been previously published in the UK. Soaring Penguin Press have done a spectacular job collecting together and translating the full run of this Peter Pan prequel, and it needs to go on your wishlist now. You may think you know the story, but you don’t know the half of it. When I first posted about this book on the Geek Syndicate website, I had to wonder whether this hardback megatrade could possibly be worth the cost. Well let me tell you, it’s an absolute steal for what you’re getting here: Six volumes of triumph and tragedy, heart-ache and wild abandonment for a flat fiver apiece. Bargain! The crocodile skin cover-design is subtle, beautiful and ominous (perfectly capturing the tone of the book) and tiny Tinkerbell punctuates
Image © Soaring Penguin Press, 2013

it beautifully. While it’s a slight shame the cover isn’t textured to match the image, the sheer weight of the thing, coupled with the classy lettering, is reassurance enough that this is money well spent. Now, let’s open that cover and take a look inside. “To keep from ending up as a pathetic adult, there is one thing to do. Believe in all your dreams.” It is clear from the first panel that Loisel has no interest in giving us a white-washed narrative: “London… cold, hunger and misery merge to set the scene…” It’s a Dickensian nightmare. The houses are cramped, the streets are full of cynical, selfish people and all is awash in the ordure of poverty. While it’s clear that they all suffer together, there is precious little sense of community. The Londoners prey upon each other like rats in a cobblestoned coffin. The single factor connecting the adult world and that of the young is a gnawing hun ger to escape. We meet Peter as a ragged child holding forth to a group of orphans in a tiny yard. When we first meet him, his only magic lies in his words, transporting the children with marvellous stories of far away places and warming their hearts with the “words of tenderness” he claims his mother whispers to him (That damned harpy!). His struggle to maintain innocence in a tawdry world is heartbreaking and renders the book firmly in the arena of adult reading, for reasons we’ll explore later. Loisel does an excellent job of portraying the darkness and terror of the adult world from a

Writer: Regis Loisel Artist: Regis Loisel Publisher: Soaring Penguin Press

Before he became Peter Pan, before his arrival to Neverland, he was a boy fighting for survival. Born into the suburbs of harsh, Dickensian London, to an alcoholic mother who leaves him in an almost-orphan state, Peter’s only retreat from reality is the fantastical stories given to him by a friendly neighbour — allowing him to escape temporarily from the darkness of the adult world. Told in language as strong as his mother’s brandy, Peter’s story is no less intoxicating. While nearly devoid of comfort and compassion, Peter’s world becomes rich in magic. Lost fairies, pirates and sirens form a cast both shocking but strangely familiar — this is J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan story for an adult audience.

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