Luuna, the French graphic novel series written by Nicolas Keramidas and illustrated by Didier Crisse, has been translated into English by TOKYOPOP, a manga publisher that’s broadening its catalogue by adding English language editions of comic books from around the world. The three-volume Luuna, in which “a Native American girl must save her tribe from her own curse”, is one of the titles leading this expansion, marketed as an example of “Europe’s most popular graphic novels”.
Luuna, Volume 1 collects the books “Night of the Totems” and “Twilight of the Lynx” from the original French publishing run. Printed on oversized pages in full, rich colour, it introduces the titular heroine and sets up the epic journey, bother outer and inner, that Luuna must go on to save her soul from being corrupted by the forces of evil.
On the night of her coming of age ritual, Luuna, a young girl from the mystic Paumanok tribe, enters the sacred wood.
There she will face Hohopah, the Heart of the Forest, and be assigned her totem, the animal incarnation of her inner-self.
But unbeknownst to Luuna, this night belongs to Unkui, the Evil One, who demands that her soul be shared!
Now Luuna is cursed with not one, but two totems: One white — the reflection of all that is good in her; the other, black — representing the darkness that resides in us all, and capable of terrible destruction.
Unable to return to her tribe, Luuna embarks on a quest to seek out the wise spirits of the earth and with their help, rid herself of the cursed totem. But little does she know that Unkui is not finished with her yet, and has set his fiendish minions on her trail…
A dark action-fantasy based on Native American mythology, similar in tone to the later “Wild Hunt” storyline of ElfQuest, Luuna manages to avoid the blatant clichés and stereotypes normally found in comics featuring tribal people and their beliefs. This respect for the source material is even directly referenced in the story when the leader of a group of evil forest spirits, out to kill Luuna’s trio of red-hued sidekicks, commands “Gut those redskins!”, and one of the offended sprites quips, in a winking aside to the reader, “Redskins?! What a dumb name! Redskins!” Luuna and her kin seem like genuine people who just happen to live in a world where forest spirits and magic actually exist. While she may resemble Disney’s Pocahontas in appearance, Luuna is a more well-rounded, relatable character who, despite being the token princess, has common human flaws and a dark side she must struggle against. She’s also given a plausible reason for being able to talk to her animal friends, as she’s a member of the Paumanok, a guardian race chosen by the gods to maintain the balance of nature.
The expressive artwork in Luuna is reminiscent of Jeff Smith’s Bone comics. The clean, bold lines, in the style of traditional cel animation, make the drawings look deceptively simple and cartoon-like until repeated readings reveal little background details and nuances of body language that add greater depth to the story. Colour is used to great effect, as well, emphasizing the cycle of lightness and darkness that Luuna goes through. The first volume of Luuna concludes with a sneak preview of eight art panels from Luuna, Volume 2, but since the dialogue has been removed from these pages, they serve mainly as a tantalizing hint of what will happen next on Luuna and her companions’ travels.
The publication date for Luuna, Volume 3, hasn’t been announced yet, but Volume 2 will be available in July 2009.
Recommended Reading Level: Young Adult (13+) for adult themes, non-sexual nudity, occasional adult language, frightening situations, and intense scenes of violence.
Order now at Amazon.com:
Luuna, Volume 1 (Canada)
Luuna, Volume 1 (US)
Pre-order at Amazon.com:
Luuna, Volume 2 (Canada)
Luuna, Volume 2 (US)
Luuna is distributed by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollinsCanada and HarperCollins Publishers, in partnership with TOKYOPOP. Check out the full range of HarperCollins/TOKYOPOP titles at HarperCollins Children’s Books.