He never should've taken the Devil's silver. Now his wife's passed away, and though Joe fears the worst--that she's trapped in Hell, he's determined to find her and deliver her from the Devil's clutches, whatever the cost. Aided by a down-and-out repairman and a little girl with a tragic secret, Joe follows a path that leads him through the afterlife and beyond. A God? Myth? Man? Well, who can know? Not a soul, but Ancient Joe...
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Superhero stories are sometimes touted as the new mythology, but they often come up short in developing a true heroic structure. Morse's new work succeeds winningly. It's a wonderful tale mixing mythic elements from the ancient and recent past to create a haunting contemporary legend that feels as if it's been around forever. This volume collects stories originally published in different publications, but the pieces mesh well. With a tiki mask for a face, hands and feet bandaged like a boxer's and a mop of unruly hair to recall that he's human, Ancient Joe is a variation on the trickster character known in many cultures. The stories are set in Cuba, where Joe-he's said to have been a drinking buddy of Hemingway's-has become a friendly and admired local legend. Everyone knows he tricked the devil, El Diablo, into giving him two bags of silver and his burro. But Joe's immortal (like all myths), unlike his good and loving wife, and after she dies, he suspects El Diablo may have dragged her to hell in revenge. Joe is determined to travel to hell and rescue her. He enlists the help of an old man with a smart-mouthed daughter (and a terrible secret) to help him get there. Morse's lush, dynamic b&w artwork perfectly captures the mystery of myth and the romance of the tropics while presenting a comical but haunting fable of love, death and wisdom. Morse's timeless character is clever enough to trick the devil, but wise enough to know that he can't trick everyone.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Instant Classic From Scott Morse....,
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This review is from: Ancient Joe (Paperback)
Ancient Joe is one of those stories that needs to be experienced firsthand; No amount of summation can convey the delightful quirkiness of ANY of Scott Morse's books, and Ancient Joe is no exception. Joe is a mystery man who fears his deceased wife's soul has been captured by his arch-enemy, El Diablo. Joe finds a pair of unlikely allies in his attempt to reach Hell in an old friend and his young Daughter, who is seemingly able to communicate with Hell and it' denizens. Morse is one of those rare creators who can give distinctive voices to all of his characters, and can flow effortlessly from gentle humor to chilling creepiness; The scenes between Joe and the young girl are especially effective in that respect. Morse takes a relatively static talking-head scene, and, through dialogue alone, makes it frightening. I also loved Joe's confrontation with El Diablo; Morse did a great job with El's dialogue; "Stay outta my Hell..." indeed! Any book by Morse is a cause to rejoice, and Ancient Joe cements his growing reputation as a master storyteller. I also recommend Morse's excellent gangster saga, Volcanic Revolver, and his super-heroic veggie, Magic Pickle.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful new folk-tale,
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This review is from: Ancient Joe (Paperback)
Once upon a time, Ancient Joe, a mysterious, immortal character, tricked El Diablo out of his silver. Much time passes, and eventually Joe's wife dies. Worried that El Diablo has claimed his wife's soul in revenge, Joe seeks out a father and daughter who can help him find out if his wife is in Hell or not. But what is the young girl's own connection to Hell?Any new book by C. Scott Morse is cause for rejoicing, and Ancient Joe: El Bizarron is no exception. Ancient Joe is inspired by myth and folklore, and captures the clean, easy, straightforward feel of a tale told again and again around the campfire. Except for a couple of pages of introductory vignettes, the story is told exclusively through art and dialogue, keeping the writing lean, without veering off into the area of pretentious overwritten prose. His background in animation shows in the way he manages to draw the eye across the page, from one panel to the next, each illustration communicating its information without any need for explanatory captions or extra, unnecessary dialogue. His expressive, impressionistic character designs are full of emotion. Even masked Ancient Joe communicates his feelings through his non-human face. What makes Ancient Joe particularly special is the way Morse blends mythologies to create his own world. From the setting and designs, the story comes across as a South or Central American folktale. But when we hear the story of how Joe tricked El Diablo into giving away his silver, it's a story I recognized as an Appalachian Jack tale. I don't know if there's a similarly classic tale behind the father and daughter who can help Joe learn about Hell, or if they come fully from Morse's imagination, and that's a good thing. He has created a story that feels both new and classic at the same time, and presented it in a lush, gorgeous manner.
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