Jim Henson’s The Storyteller was a classic show where the titular storyteller (played by the late, great John Hurt) shared old folktales and stories with his talking dog companion. So naturally, it can be adapted into a comic nicely. “The Storyteller” comics have used a variety of writers and artists to bring old stories to the page, each with their own distinct style and theme. In the “Ghosts” series, we’re taken through a number of ghost stories, although not necessarily of the haunting and horror kind.
Written, illustrated and colored by Ver
Lettered by Jim CampbellA grandmother fights to get back to the mortal world to fulfill a promise to her granddaughter, but Weles, the Slavic god of death, and his creatures are determined to bring her to her final resting place.
“The Storyteller” is told in single issues, so we’re not going to get any extended trade-focused tales. Instead, we get a short Slavic folktale of an old woman trying to meet her family. It’s a haunting tale, where she’s pursued by dark specters called zdusze, but it grows even darker with a twist near the middle.
Ver handles the pacing very nicely, using the panel sizes and placement to control the timing of each beat. The way each panel is sized and placed guides the reader to pause or speed up based on the anticipation or mood the scene is trying to set. The story is carried primarily through narration in the text boxes, but there’s enough dialogue when the characters are meant to speak that it never feels too quiet.
As far as dialogue goes, it’s a comic based on a folktale; it’s not going to be filled with witty banter, and these kinds of tales often use repetitive phrases and simple dialogue to make them memorable and easy to follow. The comic does the same, but it works to nice effect; it feels like a story someone is telling you, rather than another comic about old tales.
The story itself is nicely tense, and the midpoint twist adds another emotional layer onto it. Speaking as someone not normally familiar with Slavic folklore, it was interesting to see the kinds of beings that appear in the tale and how that mythology views death and passing on.
In the end, it gives us a few meaningful stakes. Not life or death (that’s already been settled) but the fate of a wayward soul and the last wishes of a family. It’s a more personal note, which makes for an effective story after we’ve followed it this far.
But what really carries the story is the artwork. Between Michael Walsh’s cover and Ver’s illustrations, the art brings the tale to life nicely.
The first thing I have to mention about the art is the use of light and darkness. This is essential to the story, since a good portion of the tale is about keeping things in the dark at bay with light from a lantern. The lighting is used to excellent effect, creating borders within the panels, adding dramatic effect and setting the scene. At one point, the entire page is framed by two wisps of fiery light rising from the bottom panel, adding to the dramatic effect of its reveal.
The illustration style strikes a very nice balance between detailed and clean. There’s enough detail in the characters’ faces, clothes, and even their wrinkles to make them look like complete and well-designed characters, without getting overwhelmed with little scratch lines across each character’s furrowed brows.
Most importantly are the creatures and their designs. These are excellently done, capturing a distinct style in every design.
The zdusze could have easily been your run of the mill zombie. What we get from them is still rotting humanoids, halfway between skin and skeleton, crawling on the ground and using each other to rise and fall like one mass of undead. Their elongated, thin limbs give them a distinctly creepy appearance that suits them nicely.
Then we have the god of death itself. This design is wonderful. It builds upon the comic’s use of darkness, being clad in all black. The design features skeletal arms and an animal skull for a head, along with exceptionally long horns. Yet we can still see little leafs and berries hung around the horns, as if to indicate that death is still a part of the natural order and to give something the little black birds flying around him at all times something to do.
Continued belowIt is a fantastic design. Ominous, absolutely, yet not a creature of evil. Something to be feared, but respected, not hated. It’s very different from your average grim reaper, making for a memorable design.
As the story itself is an old folk tale, we can’t exactly criticize the content of the story itself, only its selection and delivery. It’s a great choice for the “Ghosts” tales in this collection of stories, with fine emotional twists and a satisfying if bittersweet ending. With the artwork adding immensely to the story, it’s an enjoyable read.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – A solid Slavic story of ghosts and loss, with artwork that features wonderful character designs and excellent use of light and darkness. A most enjoyable tale.
