Darkly She Goes by Hubert and Vincent Mallié (graphic novel review).

‘Darkly She Goes’ is a graphic novel written by Hubert, drawn by Vincent Mallié, coloured by Bruno Tatti and translated from the French by L. Benson. The French and Belgians have long taken graphic novels more seriously as an art-form than the Anglo-Saxons.

For that reason, they tend to publish them in quality hardcover editions, but this one is also available as an eBook and is satisfactory at that. My review copy was in such a format and I read it on a tablet.

It begins with Arzhur, a disgraced knight getting in a drunken brawl with some townsfolk. Shortly after, three hags named Mae, Nae and Tae offer him a rich reward if he will rescue a princess trapped in an isolated castle. His squire, Youenn, doesn’t trust the old ladies and Arzhur protests that, since his fall from grace, he’s a sword for hire rather than a knight errant fit to rescue damsels in distress but takes the job anyway. The ruined castle isn’t far and slaying the winged ratty creatures guarding the princess is easy. The big crocodile-thing takes a bit more work. Princess Islen weeps over its dead body and tells Arzhur that he is a monster. Not the outcome he expected.

All is not what it seems, as he soon discovers. Islen has a complicated back story and her mother and father are no longer together. ‘Darkly She Goes’ is a dark fantasy tale with magic and a cast of characters which includes non-human creatures. A story of love, revenge, family strife, lust and power. Arzhur and Islen end up in a situation which neither might nor magic can resolve. It’s also a feminist tale in that Islen rebels against the traditional role of a princess, namely doing what her father tells her. Being a royal doesn’t always make for a satisfying life, even without modern media attention.

The story has qualities of Greek myth. There are no heroes or villains but larger than life characters with great flaws which lead to inevitable tragedy. The art is beautiful, especially the backgrounds. The faces are sometimes slightly cartoonish for dramatic effect but that’s clearly deliberate as Mallié is a great draughtsman. The muted colours work very well with his clean lines. I thought the work looked more rushed towards the end of each section but that may be a false impression or a fact of life caused by real deadlines.

‘Darkly She Goes’ has interesting characters, a satisfying story and terrific art. There are mature themes so it’s not suitable for younger readers but for adults it’s certainly worth a look.

Eamonn Murphy

June 2023

(pub: NBM, 2023. 160 page graphic novel hardback. Price: $29.99 (US), £28.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-68112-313-4)

check out website: https://nbmpub.com/