Written by: Jean Dufaux
Illustrations: Martin Jamar
Coloring: Martin Jamar
Publisher: Dargaud
Vincent – Heilige tussen de musketiers – Comic Book Review
Tales that revolve around religion, or at least positive ones, are becoming a thing of the past. People either don’t want to be associated with these old beliefs, or rather shed a bad light on them, instead of seeing the good, and some of the principles from which every human being can learn. Thus, with Christmas slowly creeping closer, we have a story about St. Vincent de Paul, a devout believer of the goodness that can be found within every human being, even those cast aside by society. This time we get treated to a detective story with a priest in the lead, and a chatty one at that.
Vincent, who later would be declared holy, leads a rather simple life but everything he does is in service of his fellow man. He doesn’t only serve nobility, which was common at the time, he looks at everyone as equals, be it the highest lords or the lowest scum you can find on the streets. He even goes so far collecting money from higher ranking ladies to pay off the debts of prostitutes, which is the start of this story. Vincent pays a fallen-from-grace knight, who is now the medieval equivalent of a pimp to release a young girl, Manon, to live a free life. When escorting her to the local monastery, she isn’t all that convinced bout the priest’s motives, but soon changes her mind and decides to stay. When all of a sudden, one of the young men Vincent helped is stabbed in the middle of the street, while clearly recognizing and calling out Manon’s name, a new chain of events is slowly set in motion. Vincent is asked to solve the young man’s murder, and to do this he is teamed up with an atheist who only believes in justice in an eye for an eye kind of fashion.
The pace of this murder mystery is rather slow, but perhaps in this scenario, that’s what makes this album very pleasant. Thanks to this, you’ll get to see how Vincent interacts with other human beings, and that he’s pretty much fearless. If his time is up, it’s up, if not, he’ll carry on his good work. Overall things remain interesting throughout this entire issue, but you’ll notice that Vincent is a very peculiar character who seemingly talks to himself a lot, or just speaks his mind in a fairly annoying fashion. The latter will be something you’ll either love or hate, but if this was truly how the man acted, than he surely was a very interesting figure. Overall, Jean Dufaux does a great job in keeping things interesting, even with a pacifist priest in the lead.
While the illustrations might not be the most detailed or attractive ones, they have a medieval feeling which makes this story very authentic. You’ll be treated to a rather realistic impression of the period Vincent lived in, where nobles and the common man couldn’t live further apart. The coloring is rather bland and dull, giving you the impression you’re looking at typical artwork from the Middle Ages. Martin Jamar does a great job in setting the proper atmosphere for this story.
As an extra to the story and the fun artwork, you’ll get a bit of a history lesson about the period and Vincent, which is a fun bonus, but one that’s not necessary to plow through if you just want to enjoy the story. In addition to several pages of text, you’ll see that the borders of said informative text are decorated with sketches, which add a nice touch to the entire album.
Conclusion
Vincent – Heilige tussen de musketiers was a rather big change of pace for us after having read tons of flashy action packed stories. While this story also finds itself in the detective genre, it simply feels different with such a peaceful character in the lead. If you’re into something original, with a bit of religious items in the mix, this one will certainly warm you up during these chilly months.
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