Riddler’s Fayre:The Vaults of the Mind (2006), Usharp Comics. Written by Steve Carroll Art by Jeff Anderson and Richard Thomas, 53 pp. Hardback Historical fiction is something we don’t see a lot of in current comics. Marv Wolfman said if well in a recent Comic Con panel. “I made up all the stuff” in a series of character studies he did for DC comics some years ago. For the History of Israel graphic novel Wolfman is currently working (now published) on he is doing a massive amount of very time consuming research. Sometimes it is just easier to make up your characters and worlds out of imaginary whole cloth. You don’t have to worry about little things like historical facts and context. Steve Carroll sets his story in the Summer of 1199 in medieval Europe shortly after the Third Crusade. This story revolves around an ambitious French nobleman, Comte Ludovic Parvell of Clermont and his ruthless quest for the Philosopher’s Stone that can turn lead into gold and grant eternal life. The story involves a mysterious knight with a young teen boy who has no memory and arcane symbols emblazoned on his arm, a beautiful Roma girl, a wise Muslim scholar, a wandering Jew, kindly nuns and plenty of action and plot twists to keep you going to the end. The story is well plotted and visualized with engaging characters. This book makes you want to read more to see had the tale unfolds and how these characters grow during the course of the story. The story reminded one of Prince Valiant, but unlike the saga presented by Harold Foster or his successors, people of faith are a given (as they were in the middle ages), not something to be largely ignored. This is the first in a series of Riddler’s Fayre adventures that will be continued in the next book called “The Game of Revenge.” Jeff Anderson provides thoroughly professional work in supplying the pencils and inks with Richard Thomas doing balanced and restrained color work. This graphic novel places historical fiction squarely within the context of current Christian comics. Bravo for Steve Carroll, Jeff Anderson and Usharp Comics. (This review was written in August 2006.)
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