I continue to be impressed with Toronto’s comic scene, and have found another gem in Teuton. Written by radio personality and Fred at Night host, “Fearless” Fred Kennedy, Teuton dives into the history of the crusades of northern Europe.
As a story, Teuton astounds the reader with a main character, Andrus Tamm, going through a crisis of faith when, after years of loyal servitude, he concludes that the order has become petty and corrupted by greed. His tale takes him into being captured by the pagans after an intense battle with one of his comrades-turned-creature by the pagan gods.
The battles for our hero won’t end there. Shortly after being captured and beaten, he is given the opportunity to face a legitimate pagan god in battle, one that he challenges. It’s this rebellious and unflinching nature that makes Andrus such a convincing hero.
The hero faces his own demons and issues within his faith, all while battling the pagan gods of days past. The combination of sci-fi and philosophy set in a medieval world creates characters and a story worthy of purchase and reading, regardless of where your personal reading niche lies.
Adam Gorham, the illustrator of Teuton, brings everything to life in black and white. Gorham’s artwork for the novel is perfect for the story, and he holds nothing back. The lack of colour adds a simplistic touch to each panel, all while maintaining an immense amount of detail and beauty. If Teuton was rich with vibrant colours on every page, the amount of violence and bloodshed on each page would seem gratuitous, but in black and white it comes across as elegant and gorgeous.
Each character is drawn with enough care to differentiate each so that at no point will the reader be confused as to who is on the panel. Merged with Kennedy’s writing, each character doesn’t even need to be on the panel to know who is speaking based on what is given to the reader about their individual personalities.
Produced through Big Sexy Comics, Teuton is exactly that. It looks sleek and sexy, and has the feeling of something truly epic; with enormous battles, huge violence, and a story that embodies everything you would think of when hearing the name.
This graphic novel has opened my eyes to a whole new world of history and mythology. It’s a truly beautiful thing when a story makes you want to know more about the origin of the story, and Teuton does just that. Kennedy takes a relatively unknown subject matter of European history and makes it come to life in a way that’s both compelling and intelligent.
You can check out the first 69 pages of Teuton, for free, at bigsexycomics.com. For more artwork and current projects from Adam Gorham, check out his blog.
Also If you dig Teuton check out this interview with creators Fred Kennedy and Adam Gorham by TdotComics’s own Alice Quinn taken at Wizard World 2011:
Wizard World 2011 – Fearless Fred and Adam Gorham from TdotComics on Vimeo.
