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Dante - The Courtship of Jena Marakov
Nikolai
Dante - The Courtship of Jena Marakov
by Robbie
Morrison, Charlie Adlard, John Burns, Simon Fraser
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What to Expect:
The man who's "too cool to kill" returns and makes a play for the
Tsar's daughter.
Review by Gavin
Hanly
7th January 06
In the recent 2005AD
review, I nominated Robbie Morrison as “most over-rated”. In many
respects, this is a little harsh, but the main reason for doing this was my disappointment
in the adventures of Nikolai Dante that are currently running in the weekly. This
was emphasised by reading Prog 2006’s “catch-up” episode, something
that should only have been deemed acceptable for inclusion in the comic if it
was the beginning of a new series, followed by the reading of this collection.
The difference in quality between the latest episode and this paperback was so
marked as to leave a pall over Dante’s recent adventures.
To sum things up
early, this is a great collection, and continues to develop the tales of Nikolai
Dante through what could be deemed his Golden Years. It’s not something
I could recommend to anyone who is coming to Dante’s adventures fresh (let
me guide those people towards purchasing the highly recommended volumes one and
two) but to the rest of us, this is indispensable Dante. Over the past two volumes,
Dante and his world have been significantly enriched. He has kept, to an extent,
his roguish devil-may-care attitude, but there’s been a visible growing
discomfort at a number of points, combined with his impotence in the face of the
power of the two main houses of Marakov and Romanov. In addition to this, we’ve
seen Morrison develop interesting and diverse supporting roles, particularly in
the aforementioned two houses. And this necessary scene-setting, while never getting
in the way of good storytelling, helps to start to deliver considerable pay-off
in this volume.
What of the art
in this collection? The first two tales, Fists of Fury and Last Dance on the Trans
Siberian Express feature Charlie Adlard on art duties (something I’d like
to see again to potentially give both John Burns a break and help to increase
the frequency of Dante tales). In this volume, Adlard seems to be settling in
well with the character of Dante, able to bring the mix of humour and pathos that
Simon Fraser also brings to his tales. Following that, we have the debut of John
Burns on the title. I have to say, I far prefer Burns’s work in this volume
over his recent Dante work in the weekly. There is a far greater combination of
strong linework and painted artwork in the tales on show here. Lately, Burns’s
shift to painted artwork only occasionally makes his work look rushed, where here,
there is great attention to detail throughout.
Finally, Simon Fraser shows how he just kept improving on th
series and how he is still much missed on it today, with the main event –
the courtship of Jena Marakov. Fraser manages to excel at all the greatest aspects
of Dante. The detail he puts into the scenery, costume and character design is
unparalleled. He’s at home with great spectacle – witness the grand
armies gathering for war – as he is with depicting the tragic relationship
of Jena and Nikolai. Fraser also contributes an extensive “behind the scenes”
artwork showcase to this volume, a much needed addition over the previous two,
and is really something we should see expanded to other 2000AD collections (outside
of the hardbacks).
The three artists
all contribute to tales which further the overall storyline of Nikolai Dante.
Adlard's tales sees the setup for the later “Courtship” tale and continues
to see the two houses working against each other. Burns’s tale sees the
introduction of Dante’s mother, Katarina Dante, and he pirate crew. This
is again a good example of Morrison continuing to push the story forward, introducing
characters that would only come to full fruition later on (although in the case
of Dante’s mother, it’s taking a bloody long time). Finally, we get
the main event – The Courtship of Jena Marakov. This is where things really
start to take off, where the rivalry between the two houses ignites, and both
Dante and Jena Marakov are faced with some unpleasant decisions. All these tales
are excellent reading, and as mentioned above, deliver some real pay-off, particularly
with Jena and Nikolai’s relationship. Morrison seems so at home with his
characters, and in weaving a fairly complicated overall plot, that it seems difficult
to believe that the same writer has been treating us to the current seemingly
interminable tales of Pirate Dante and his much reduced supporting cast.
What of the collection
itself? As with many of the new Rebellion collections, the new Matt finish to
the book actually makes it look much more professional than the previous editions.
The reproduction quality is high and seems to improve as the series continues
(unsurprising as we move onto art that is stored digitally). As mentioned, the
addition of some behind the scenes material is much appreciated, as is the one
pager that introduces us to the world of Dante. However, perhaps the "Status
report" section of that page could have been a little longer and referred
to previous collections rather than the first half of this one?
So – once
again – this is an excellent tale. It’s a must-have for any Dante
fan, and sets the scene for Tsar Wars, out later this year. Maybe Dante’s
current adventures will read this well in collected form, but in the meantime,
I highly recommend you check out some of his best stories.
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