King Arthur and Lancelot are recurring characters in the comic but what about the other knights of the round table? The forgotten legend of Perceval published by Glénat reveals the childhood of the hero who brought back the Grail.
The first steps of a knight
The forgotten legend of Perceval reveals to young readers the childhood of a secondary character in the legend of King Arthur. Living in a village in the south of England, Perceval is an only child dreaming of distant adventures. He is raised by a loving mother away from war. It alternates between the well-known village and the deep forests where the magic still resists. However, one morning, he came across Saxon soldiers who had come to invade England. This meeting seals his fate.
With this new series, screenwriter Frédéric Brrémaud and cartoonist Federico Bertolucci rediscover the magic of Brindille and Donald's Holiday. They know how to adapt to the youngest by limiting the dialogues because the essential goes through the images. The layout is organized very clearly around very large images from the comics. Federico Bertolucci knows how to convey without a word the terror of a character during the attack of an owl. The rounded drawing evokes Disney cartoons and other elements: Perceval is accompanied by a pet, here an ermine. Other gagesque images are worthy of Lucky Luke like this rider who crashes his nose on his mount. The violence seems even heavier when we do not see much. A fox walks away in the dark with a fairy in his mouth. This simplicity does not prevent The Forgotten Legend of Percival from clearly explaining the Saxon invasion and its effects (the destruction of villages and violence against the peasants).
Their first heroic fantasy story
However, The Forgotten Legend of Percival is not a historical account. The action takes place in the Middle Ages but there is no date except the indication that it was "a very long time ago". So we are well into the tale. The drawing also takes up this evocation of the past. The forgotten legend of Perceval does not have a white gutter but brown like a parchment.
This series could be a child's gateway to magic. The book soon shows two fairies looking for berries for their colony. This gathering is dangerous because they fear an owl and vital because they are the last young fairies in the community. The English magical world disappeared with the arrival of Christianity but it remained in the North, probably in Scandinavia. This disappearance from the ancient world of magic evokes the Lord of the Rings. According to a fairy, there remains one hope: the coming of the messenger. The others no longer believe it.
Perceval is a young adventurer looking for adventure. He dreams of sitting at the round table. Fetching water then becomes an obstacle race. He is not afraid of anything and takes advantage of a happy coincidence: hunting a fox leads him to find himself involved in an attack of Saxon barbarians. Then, he is not surprised to meet a fairy but happy to be able to help her and let people know that magic exists. Like Peter Pan, this encounter launched his first real adventure. On his way back to the village, he meets a knight of King Arthur Gilead. However, his fate is prevented as his mother refuses this dangerous life due to his past. Driven by the Saxon threat, the youth makes the decision to disobey.
Originally designed for children, The Forgotten Legend of Percival works equally well on adults. The drawing will remind them of the cartoons of their childhoods and the central character is worthy of the best knights. The end of this first volume of a triptych is gripping because many groups find themselves in the same place and multiple threats are emerging.
You can find the same artistic team an article on Donald's Holiday and A 15-Year-Old Captain.
