Written by: Claus
Illustrations: Claus
Coloring: Studio Leonardo
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
De Rode Ridder #244 Mensenjacht – Comic Book Review
De Rode Ridder (The Red Knight) might sound like a new name for a medieval superhero, or perhaps a name for a villain in the wave of comic book movies that are being released nowadays. In reality it’s a comic book series, that revolves around the life of Johan, one of the knights of the round table. Sadly, this Belgian classic did not make it oversees but thanks to our upcoming review(s) you’ll be able to enjoy the story of these short but fun comic books.
Today we are able to present you with a review of #244 Mensenjacht, where Johan finds himself stuck in the ‘Far East’ and Merlin seems to lack the power to teleport them back home. A strange setting for a medieval knight, but luckily our heroic swordsman is a jack of all trades.
After the latest adventure of Johan and Merlin, they find themselves in Japan, together with Yorimoto a befriended samurai. Johan wishes to go home, because there is still much to be done, to slay evil wherever he goes. Sadly, Merlin lacks the magic power to teleport Johan and himself home. Going by boat might be an option, but this route could take more than a year and the heroic duo can’t waste this much time. This causes the party to decide to think of another solution, to get Merlin his magic powers back.
Whilst the main quest already sounded quite difficult, it gets even worse when an unknown woman that looks identical to the wife of a local daimyo shows up. She decides to dispose of the daimyo’s wife and convince him to hunt Yorimoto. Even though she makes it seem like she’s after Yorimoto, it actually looks like she knows Johan and Merlin and is more interested in hunting them down. The daimyo is persuaded by this foul temptress and allows her to hunt Yorimoto, with several of his finest men at her disposal.
It does not take long, before Johan, Merlin and Yorimoto are being hunted and have to try and hide to come up with a plan. Luckily, a mysterious woman comes to their aid, to allow them to escape. It seems this woman is also interested in the party, but in a good way. This is pretty much where the story ‘starts off’.
As the comic books of ‘De Rode Ridder’ only count 30 pages, the flow of the story is a fairly rapid one. Even though the pages still have a decent amount of text on them, there is still enough action on nearly every page. Due to the limited amount of space, you will notice that there are some smaller time gaps, which can sometimes mess up the flow.
Even with the limited space, the story feels just right for the comic book. A fun oriental story, with a medieval knight in the lead. A fun idea by Claus, who writes the story of the series every two numbers. This means that the next issue will be written by Marc Legendre, who is currently writing the story for the Amoras series.
It’s clear that the writers are still trying to hold onto the roots of the series, which dates from the late 50’s. You will notice that some of the writing seems dated or that certain expressions used in the series perfectly match the time period our hero finds himself in.
Even though the series was initially created by Willy Vandersteen, the illustrations have always been a lot more mature than his other series. Nowadays, the series is drawn by Claus, who does a superb job in making the series authentic and appealing. The color palette is provided by Studio Leonardo, who also opt for a more old school scheme. A fitting style for the series.
All panels are organized neat and tidy, which makes sure a lot more things can happen over the course of the limited pages.
Conclusion
Even after 244 issues ‘De Rode Ridder’ is still going strong. The different setting our brave knight finds himself in is a fun change of pace and we would not mind seeing Johan explore the Far East even further. Nonetheless, we hope to see our valiant knight clear his homestead of evil just as well.
De Rode Ridder #244 Mensenjacht - Comic Book Review,
Related Items
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] and Claus take turns in writing stories for the Rode Ridder saga, this volume is a direct sequel to #244 Mensenjacht. Try to hold on to the reins as Merlin is still creating whimsical wormholes that lead them […]