In The Witch's Flower, Tami lives in a medieval world where, like all teenagers in his village, he must leave to be recognized as an adult. But, without a guide, how can he become a man?
A magical medieval tale
In the powder, a young boy, Tami follows runes to confront the giant demon Rutu. These brutal actions will have consequences. We have already talked about a giant but there are also living skeletons. The Witch's Flower is an action story but also much more. When beaten, he explains to a skeleton that he is on a journey to become a man. It is a tradition of his village for all ten-year-olds but he is lost because no one tells him how to do it. During his journey, a shaman explained to him that he must go north to pick the witch's flower. So he looks for the village of Karriga to reach this precious plant. After a storm, two villagers, Eemil and his daughter Mira, find Tami unconscious in the snow. It will take all their efforts to save him from this cold snap. It is through them that the young boy's life will change. While he wants to become a man, he will rather learn to enjoy his childhood. Indeed, Tami, naïve and clumsy, lives in a binary world of fairy tales while Eemil enlightens him with the complexity of reality. He will understand that rather than killing all creatures, it is better to understand them. Published by 404 comics, The Witch's Flower is the first graphic novel by an Italian author, Enrico Orlandi who, despite this inexperience, sets a very original magical atmosphere. The hero's costumes and runes make us travel to Scandinavia while the relief is more reminiscent of the Alpine mountains. The tent village of Karriga is reminiscent of the nomadic peoples of America. Even if Enrico Orlandi's digital drawing is composed of flat areas, he practices several styles. His design becomes more iconic in memories using only three colors: black, white and beige.
The contemporary witch's flower?
Gently The Witch's Flower moves the lines. Mira by a question shows that the village of Tami is misogynistic while this apprentice hero questions masculinity. He wants to be respected by becoming a man. For this, he has led a traditional quest – to kill demons, deliver princesses and discover treasure – but these exploits are not enough for him. He has to pick a flower but is he ready to do anything for it? Next to him, the youngest, Mira is much more resourceful and knows the place very well. She wants to have fun and not prove anything. He is constantly on the alert. Just like today's society awakened by feminist movements, a hero is no longer just a victorious man. There is also the issue of cultural misunderstandings. Tammi is proud to have killed Rutu. This demon was certainly ugly, but for the inhabitants of a village it protected them from evil spirits. The Witch's Flower begins as a fairly classic initiation novel with a young hero wanting to prove his worth by the force of the sword but Enrico Orlandi maliciously comes out of these patterns often repeated to show that the important thing is to think of others. At the end of the volume, there will be a moral but much more modern than expected. If you enjoyed this book, we advise you to discover the other releases of this young label by our chronicles on Dunce and Big Girls.
