The Barefoot Serpent [Paperback]

Scott Morse (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2003

The life of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa combined with a story of a friendship between a small girl and boy in Hawaii. The story of a small girl and her one-day friendship with a strange boy while on vacation with her family in Hawaii. Their lives are forever changed as they explore the island and themselves. Bookended by full-color biographical excerpts from the life of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, the central story's themes reflect those of the filmmaker and is told through black and white half-toned, fully-painted artwork. The Barefoot Serpent is offered as a 128-page hardcover graphic novel, in the same size and format as the Little Golden Books of old. This is definitely Scott's most unique and ambitious graphic novel to date.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Morse presents the main story of his genuinely lovely book in a range of grays and a style resembling Japanese manga, UPI cartoons (e.g., Gerald McBoingBoing), and the old Captain Kangaroo feature, Tom Terrific. The grays constitute a constant reminder of the mournfulness that perforce hangs over the action, in which a little girl journeys to Hawaii with her parents after her older brother's death. There she meets a little-boy wheeler-dealer and tags along as he hustles a mask he has carved and plays in sand and surf. Rejoining her father, she infects him with her restored spirits; the family flies home refreshed. Sandwiching that story is a child's-picture-book-like sketch of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. The drawing style is very similar to that of the little girl's story, but figures are more angular, and Morse paints them against abstract backdrops in a range of soft colors, expressionistically employed. How does this relate to the little girl's story? Well, Kurosawa experienced great sadness, too, and he "showed the world what youth and freedom could do." Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Top Shelf Productions (September 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891830376
• ISBN-13: 978-1891830372
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,967,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Little Story, November 11, 2003

By 

B. Bukowski (Montana USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Barefoot Serpent (Paperback)

"The Barefoot Serpent" is Scott Morse's tribute to the master filmaker Akira Kurosawa; a fully painted tale of Kurosawa's life, and a charming story of hope make up this captivating book.

While vacationing in Hawaii, a girl and her family--who are slowly disconnecting after suffering a death in the family--each take part in their own journey of resolution which brings them closer together.

Morse's fantastic painted portion of the book is colorful and vibrant, while the black and white stylized art portion is very effective for conveying the emotions of all of the characters and the innocence and veiled sadness of the young girl.

For Kurosawa fans, Morse fans, or for readers looking for a comic book that is different from the norm, "The Barefoot Serpent" comes highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your average book, April 23, 2011

By 

Andy Shuping (Macon, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Barefoot Serpent (Paperback)

Cross posted from ComicsForge

Now you know you have a different type of book on your hands when one of the blurbs on the back cover is by Don Cheadle. That's right, the actor. Plus Scott Mosier, producer of films like Clerks, Chasing Amy, etc. How often do you see that happen for a graphic novel?? And there's a good reason for having Hollywood show up to review a book. This novel is a mix of a biography about the filmmaker Akira Kuroswa and the story of a family moving on after a tragedy. You wouldn't think a combination like this would work, but it does.

The first few pages of the book cover the early part of Akira's life up to where he made his first film. It very quickly covers who Akira is, how he got into movies, and a bit about his relationship with his family. We then get into the main story of a young girl and her family who at the beach. When she goes to investigate a noise she finds drummers...ghost drummers floating in the sky. Which leads her to a young boy carving a mask and the two become friends...or at least companions on a journey with some strange encounters. The dad and mom also have encounters that remind them of a son who is no longer with them. I won't say the island heals them, but something changes on their journey. The last part of the book covers the rest of Akira's life. His fall from the top of his game, to working his way back up, and at the end realizing that what the critics say doesn't really matter.

I really don't have any other work to compare this to, it's just unique in its layout and its execution. The combining of a seemingly unrelated biography with a short story at first makes no sense what so ever. But reading it and thinking about it, it begins too. Even without knowing much about Kuroswa. There are some similarities and parallels being drawn by the two stories, of loss and grief and hope. He even uses some elements from Kuroswa's films, such as the floating drumming ghosts. The writing is simple and flows easily, but it never lets go of your attention. What Scott Morse has done with this work is beautiful...even for such a simple story it makes you think. The fact that the family never has names makes it easier to put yourself in the story, to see your life or that of your friends before you.

I just have to say I freaking love, love the front cover of this book. It's absolutely perfect. I just wish the entire book was like that. And that's not to say it isn't good, because it is, I just imagine how much more impressive it is/would be in color. And I have trouble imagining that Scott didn't do the entire book in color when he was designing it and then just translated it to grayscale for final publication, because the pictures just look like the have color to them. But...at the same time I think he was going for a parallel between Kuroswa's movies so black and white kinda makes sense. The panels are even laid out on the page like film. Scott's work has a simple elegance to it that makes the drawings both poignant and powerful.

I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone and give it 5 out of 5 stars. You have to read it a couple of times, but it will grow on you.

5.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively clever, November 2, 2008

By 

Ryan Bonneville (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Barefoot Serpent (Paperback)

The muted grays and slightly cartoony rendering of the central story may distract from the depth of what Morse is doing, but don't be fooled. This is a deceptively powerful tale of a family's loss, grief, and redemption. A series of parables and confrontations turn this family's getaway vacation into a return to their lives.

The family story is book-ended by gorgeously-painted scenes from the life of Akira Kurosawa that would be worth the price of admission alone. What Morse does with those scenes, though - a sort of thematic, impressionistic weaving of Kurosawa's films and tropes into the central story - establishes the connection between these two seemingly unrelated tales. The juxtaposition transforms this family's reconciliation over the loss of a son and brother into a vehicle for Kurosawa's redemption and, in the process, brings everyone some small measure of peace.