Siblings Kit and Cat Seaton take on the 1889 Scottish fairy tale of the same name in the teen and adult read “The Black Bull of Norroway,” the first in a series of undetermined length. When a knight is cursed and turned into a bull, a prophecy calls for three things to give him a chance at being human again: a sword, a shield, and a beloved. After the curse has run its course for 100 years, the bull – Brom – and the other cursed members of his family begin to lose hope of returning to their true forms until Sibylla joins Brom on his quest to reclaim his humanity from the Old One.
Written by Cat SeatonCover by Kit Seaton
Illustrated and Colored by Kit SeatonCaptivating artwork and a diverse cast aren’t enough to entirely offset this occasionally adrift and often repetitive story where characters, rather than setting, reign supreme. Like the overall story, the characters suffer at times from a lack of clarity and explanation regarding their emotional and behavioral responses to in-story occurrences. Similarly, the protagonist is not always likeable. Even so, there is enough potential for readers to continue past this volume to a hopefully stronger follow up.
The premise of Brom and Sibylla’s story has a surprising potential for depth; shades of Pride and Prejudice and Beauty and the Beast appear with regards to unwanted relationships that may lead to broken curses, as well as misconceptions based either on first appearances or on rumors and tales shared between others, with neither character really knowing the other before passing judgement.
Just as in the original tale, the graphic novel is named after Brom, the black bull of Norroway. When it comes to the focus, however, Sibylla takes center stage. Even so, the Seatons deftly play the two off each other in an ironic turn once their stories converge. Although the physically imposing Bull has lost his human form and, over time, some of his actual humanity as well, he treats Sibylla with more concern and kindness than she manages to bestow upon him. Her rage, uncontrolled and prone to flares, is that much more suited to a wild animal incapable of knowing the damage it may do if left unchecked.
And therein lies part of the problem: the story often gets bogged down in the rage and moves beyond understandable into the frustrating. Sibylla, knowing that she is to be married to a bull after having her fortune read to her as a child by the witch Maire (later revealed to be the Old One), is depicted in various states of emotion regarding the foretelling. Immediately after, she seems to be in shock, doubtful of the veracity of the fortune. She then turns to defiance, saying she will do it but under her conditions; it is this response that would have made for a more compelling story. Lastly, she returns to a quiet state of doubt before a time lapse shows her grow into a happy young woman who has enjoyed the various stages of her childhood alongside her sisters and Maire. All of this is within reason and the use of panels that depict the time lapse are brilliantly done, showing her not just growing older but also on a progressive trajectory, building upon the previous panel to come to some form of completion.
Once both sisters marry, the reality that Sibylla can’t escape her own fate hits, with concern clearly depicted in her face. The portrayal of her magpie flying off into a pink-tinged sunset over a tranquil purple mountain range toward the bull visually signals the end of her mostly carefree life. At every turn thereafter, Sibylla reveals that not only is she not resigned to the idea due to spending her life ignoring what was to come, she is actively angry and resentful about it. There are multiple times throughout the story that Sibylla storms off at the slightest provocation, revealing that the earlier panels were wrong to suggest growth was achieved at all. Rather, Sibylla spent so much time hoping to avoid her future that she never allowed herself to emotionally grow as a person in other integral ways. She has the emotional volatility of a person still learning their way around their strong and confusing emotions, and regularly acts petulant, despite the personal costs.
Continued belowAnd yet, the story is not without its wisdom, as is neatly exemplified in the declaration from cursed brother Esben to Sibylla that “Not all curses are deserved.” Whether or not this is the case for Brom, it has yet to be determined. Readers are given multiple versions of the story that led to his curse, with none being clearly signaled as the one true story. As in life, it mirrors the likelihood that there is truth and falsehoods in all. It is also unclear if the truth is going to be revealed in a later volume (or how many volumes the story can carry) but it is clear that the curse grew in strength due to Brom’s own sense of self-hatred and guilt over the death of a young girl. Despite the weight of these emotions, and perhaps due to the significant time Brom has carried the burden of them, he remains even-tempered and focused on the larger picture.
The setting is a nondescript land in a faraway place, replete with a forest, a glass mountain (illustrated as a steely, otherworldly landscape), and a resident witch. Cool colors dominate, with significant scenes taking place in the dark of a crumbling castle or the foggy deck of a traveling boat. Most travel tends to be done during daylight hours and features a floral and pastel palette that helps to strengthen the connection between the supernatural curse (and those affected by it) and the reality that exists for others. Most striking, however, are the high contrast black and red scenes that depict the history of the curse being cast and later, Sibylla’s fall; this may be suggesting a curse of her own for not heeding Maire’s warning to not interfere with Brom’s trial. Both give the feel of a fiery underworld that is kept in motion by the heartache and pain it bears witness to.
Although the artwork is powerfully done overall and includes an effective use of expressions as well as varied panel layouts and bleeds, some scenes can’t be easily discerned (one in particular takes place in the already dark scenery of Esben’s dilapidated palace) and require studying and close inspections to determine what is taking place.
Because of this fictional setting, it is never made clear whether or not Sibylla is a marginalized person within the story in terms of ethnicity or race. Readers will note, however, that Sibylla and many of the other human-presenting characters, including Brom’s family, are persons of color, which is still a rare but welcomed form for fantasy characters. The representation isn’t altogether surprising, however, given Kit Seaton’s work on the afrofuturistic speculative fiction graphic novel “Afar.”
Other welcomed efforts of inclusion find their way into the story. Gender and ability-based inclusion via they/them pronouns are used by Captain Dhow and Brom’s differently abled sister Dagny, who uses prosthetics after losing both feet to a marital act of cruelty, has a small but significant role in helping the duo on their way.
Kit and Cat Seaton have all the elements needed to make “Norroway” a cohesive and poignant story, including an intriguing premise, emotional conflict, and the potential for stronger characterizations, but struggle to pull them together into a cohesive whole in the first volume.
