Raptor: A Sokol Graphic Novel
- Downloads：1465
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-09 08:51:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Dave McKean
- ISBN：1506720633
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A visual tour-de-force graphic novel from artist and writer Dave McKean （Black Dog， The Sandman）。
The Raptor， Sokol， flickers between two worlds: a feudal fantastical landscape where he must hunt prey to survive， and Wales in the late 1800s where a writer of supernatural tales mourns the passing of his young wife。 He exists between two states， the human and the hawk。 He lives in the twilight between truth and lies， life and death， reality and the imagination。
World Fantasy， Harvey， British Science Fiction Association， and V+A Book Award winner Dave McKean's first creator-owned character is a wandering spirit for our times。
The Raptor， Sokol， flickers between two worlds: a feudal fantastical landscape where he must hunt prey to survive， and Wales in the late 1800s where a writer of supernatural tales mourns the passing of his young wife。 He exists between two states， the human and the hawk。 He lives in the twilight between truth and lies， life and death， reality and the imagination。
World Fantasy， Harvey， British Science Fiction Association， and V+A Book Award winner Dave McKean's first creator-owned character is a wandering spirit for our times。
Reviews
Rob Schamberger
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To be alive at a time that Dave McKean is creating art is a blessing。
Alex Sarll
，
To some extent， if you know Dave McKean's solo work， you have an idea what you're getting here; the same gorgeous collage effects and sinuous lines that made his Sandman covers so eye-catching and mood-setting， deployed in the service of a story which has a deep air of dream and fable about it， but maybe not an enormous amount of momentum。 In 19th century Wales， a writer called Arthur （no， not Machen， though that was my first thought） mourns his wife， his 'little bird'。 In another， misty， monste To some extent， if you know Dave McKean's solo work， you have an idea what you're getting here; the same gorgeous collage effects and sinuous lines that made his Sandman covers so eye-catching and mood-setting， deployed in the service of a story which has a deep air of dream and fable about it， but maybe not an enormous amount of momentum。 In 19th century Wales， a writer called Arthur （no， not Machen， though that was my first thought） mourns his wife， his 'little bird'。 In another， misty， monster-haunted time or world， the falconer Sokol* tries his best to fight evil without getting enmeshed in the lives of others， despite that being a hard circle to square even in a story where McKean is doing his usual strange things to shapes。 That the two have some connection is clear from the off; what it is exactly， I probably couldn't put into words even having finished， but it makes emotional sense， which will do me。 The writing is sometimes so determined to display a deep connection with the land that it feels like Will Self swallowed a shelf of nature writing: "Oolitic limestone and old red elastic sandstone ripple in soft folds。 The sea spray at high tide， and the smirr rain at most times， have turned the surface slick black。 Red veins of loose silt pulse and flow; the land is breathing gently。" That's not without beauty， but if you're going to start deploying showy vocab， you need to make sure you're being precise about it。 I'm pretty sure 'rain' is superfluous there as it it would be in 'mizzle rain'， and there are other little glitches like that scattered around， as when Arthur seems to be calling his book 'Apophonia'， then offers the definition for apophenia。 Though admittedly， he is drunk， and there is a whole strand here about books changing when you turn your back on them， an experience I'm sure we've all had even without being authors dabbling in the occult and mystically connected to someone from elsewhere。 Not an entirely satisfying read， but very much an intriguing one。*His name has accents， but if the publisher page isn't going to include them， then I'm not digging through the keyboard to ferret them out。 。。。more
Melissa
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Fascinatingly illustrated
Mark Schlatter
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I ended up reading this twice in succession to better understand the plot and to look up all the words I am was unfamiliar with （smirr？ hummadruz？）。 I believe this is McKean's first major solo comics work since Cages， and --- like that work --- there's a strong focus on creativity and artistry。 We follow Arthur， a nineteenth century writer whose words， written in the midst of the grief of losing his wife， parallel or even narrate the actions of Sokol， a monster hunter in an alternate world。 As g I ended up reading this twice in succession to better understand the plot and to look up all the words I am was unfamiliar with （smirr？ hummadruz？）。 I believe this is McKean's first major solo comics work since Cages， and --- like that work --- there's a strong focus on creativity and artistry。 We follow Arthur， a nineteenth century writer whose words， written in the midst of the grief of losing his wife， parallel or even narrate the actions of Sokol， a monster hunter in an alternate world。 As genrified as that sounds， it isn't。 McKean isn't so much interested in fantasy as he is in connection and relationship， and the ultimate tone is much more emotional and inward-looking than action packed。Being a McKean work， the art is fantastic， changing from compelling pencil and ink work to much more abstract splashes of color and collage。 But I found the plot meandering with a very interesting central point surrounded by bits that felt extraneous。 The worst of those bits for me was a closing quote that took me right out of the work， but there's also a fascinating tarot-inspired scene that on the the second reading struck me as expertly written but doing nothing to further much of anything。 And， like in Cages， female characters get short shrift， either appearing as muses or silent partners。The whole work has whiffs of fascination， but I found the story underdeveloped。 If you are interested in McKean as a writer and artist， I would recommend Cages over this。 。。。more
Nathaniel Darkish
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Though much of the art was really cool， I felt like I had no idea what was going on 99% of the time。
Alexander Peterhans
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