Caliber (2009)

The artwork of Garrie Gastonny and the story by Sam Sarkar go together to make this retelling of the Arthur and Merlin tale an amazing book. Set in the old west, Excalibur the sword becomes Caliber the six-shooter (don't you just love the pun?) and Merlin the magician is a shaman named Jean Michel. Arthur is Arthur and accidentally discovers that he is the only one able to use Caliber. He goes on to fight evil always standing up for the law, never giving in to feelings of revenge.

The artwork is positively stunning. The glossy heavyweight pages help make the detail stand out vividly. The only warning I have for readers is the graphic violence. However, the story and the era it is placed in were violent so it is to be expected.

I recommend this to all graphic novel fans and to readers looking for an interesting twist on an old story.

My rating for this book: +++++

The Quest of the Fair Unknown (2008)

Imagine that you were born in the forest and grew up knowing only your mother. Imagine that just before she died she told you only that your father was a knight of the Round Table. Off you go in the world with only that knowledge. Beaufils (his mom's name for him which translates to "handsome son") goes off in search of his father. Well, it seems that almost everyone he meets in off in search of one thing or another. During this time in history, if there wasn't anything going on, the kings would send the knights off on quests so they wouldn't hang around fighting each other. Beaufils finds his way to Camelot, meets King Arthur, and realizes that finding out who his father is will not be as easy as he thought.
This book reminded me of The Little Prince, a French book about a boy who leaves his home planet and meets a lot of interesting characters. I love the subtle humor in this book.

"Does everyone have a title?" Beaufils asked.
"No," Gawain replied. "It's a special privilege, and the people who have a title sometimes
think it makes them very special indeed."
Beaufils smiled at Gawain's witticism. He had to be joking, of course; Beaufils knew that
people would never really think they were special just because of extra words tacked onto
their name.

Readers who enjoy Round Table stories will love this book and others by this author.
My rating for this book: ++++