Joan

The JOAN saga is that rare Japanese graphic novel which is not only in full color but also complete in just three volumes. Books I and II charted the progress of Emil (née Emily) of Lorraine, a 17-year-old girl who seeks to follow in the footsteps of Joan of Arc eleven years after the French heroine died at the stake. Masquerading as a boy for reasons described in Book I, Emil tries to continue Joan's work by throwing support behind the weak King Charles VII and fighting against a coalition of nobles opposing him. Helping her maintain her faith is the vision of Joan herself who appears to Emil at key moments.Book III, the final chapter in the epic saga (and, at 224 pp., the longest of the three), opens with a vividly detailed battle between the armies of King Charles and Dauphin Louis and its sad aftermath as Emil surveys the destruction. However, much of the rest of the volume takes place in a castle where Emil is held captive by the Dauphin and subjected to repeated brutality. (Warning: this section of the book contains some nudity and profanity.) Yet even in captivity, Emil's spirited bond with Joan is able to work miracles, leading to a most rewarding and heart-wrenching ending. Despite the dank, oppressive settings of this part of the story, artist Yoshikazu Yasuhiko keeps things visually interesting with his cinematic eye for composition and varied color schemes designed to match the dramatic tone of each scene. Overall, the three-volume JOAN is a masterful work and arguably one of the finest Japanese graphic novels ever seen in an English edition. (This review is based on a reading of the paperback edition.)