Sirk TV Graphic Novel Review: FRATERNITY [Lion Forge/Diamond]

The dark texture of the past is sometimes overtaken by the wanton romanticism of what could have been. This has been talked in many ways in reference to the Old West whereas in fact it was a dirty and murderous place as was the pioneer trade. Life was very hard. People made mistakes. But life went on. This aspect is taken into account in the graphic novel “Fraternity” [Juan Diaz Canales/Lion Forge/128pgs] which speaks to many of the utopian societies who after The Civil War tried to take the aspect of equality and fairness into effect. However the sociological structure which it shows paints back the idea that many are still grappling with today which is the aspect of classicism and more prominently racism. At the core comes a creature that shows both tenderness and vicious violence, not unlike the human reflections that occupy New Fraternity. McGowan, the old elder, has tried to shelter the people from violence even going so far as to hide weapons that could be used to subjugate each other deep in catacombs outside their domiciles. Like many forebearing Messiah myths, the truth comes in the form of a child who grows into a man who speaks the truth. Emile is that boy, mute in his progression but pure in his beliefs. It is he who finds the devil, more specifically dictated in the form of a minotaur. This creature in many ways is reflective of the people's behavior which is balanced on the idea of what utopia is an how the inherent nature of its power and instability makes it fall apart, both because of class difference but who the governing body should be. The drawing of the characters in many ways with exaggerated noses and specific eye structure brings to mind the 40s animation of Disney. But like those ideas where the most severest of creatures usually have a benevolent side, the notion of unity with Emile and the creature which is ripped apart in ways by the village's fear illustrates a bigger problem. Like any community, betrayal carries a harsh consequence and “Fraternity”allows for the idea that no story is clean cut and all are treated differently. There are always strands of life that continue to grow forth.C

By Tim Wassberg