Customer Reviews

The Barefoot Serpent

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"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.

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.

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.

Soon I'll be flying to Hawaii to attend one of my best friend's weddings. While there I'll be staying with another friend of mine who is currently earning her teaching license on the island of Oahu. She's a fan of children's literature and my hope was to find something that she could grab ahold of and enjoy. It seemed "The Barefoot Serpent" was the perfect choice so I grabbed a copy. Like all great graphic novels, this book deserves a second reading. And a third. Those who'll get the most out of this creation will be those people that are capable of a quiet think. Those who aren't capable will simply find it a wonderful read.

The story at the heart of this book is couched between the life of the filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Scott Morse has retold the life of the great artist in brief. Though this tale has nothing to do with "The Barefoot Serpent" 's main tale, it gives the reader to understand that much of this story is heavily influenced by Kurosawa's works. In the main tale itself, we meet a small girl, her mother, and her father. The girl's older brother committed suicide not too long ago and the family has taken a trip to Hawaii to ease their hearts. The wife goes for a ride across the island, meeting up with a woman running a shaved ice stand. The husband stays on the beach dealing with what he find there. The daughter follows the sounds of the Night Marchers and discovers a young boy. Most of the story follows these two characters. The boy has recently carved a mask and he decides to ask his uncle to purchase it. The girl tags along and the uncle explains to the boy that the mask speaks of sorrow. The kind of sorrow, "like a snake wit no shoes on". After thinking this through the boy offers the mask to the girl and through it she comes to accept her brother's death.

Scott Morse provides an Afterword to his book that explains the ways in which Kurosawa influenced his story. Elements from such movies as "Dreams" and "High and Low" (which I've seen) are included, as well as scenes from "Yojimbo" and "Drunken Angel" (which I haven't seen). There's little question that the reader familiar with Kurosawa?s works is going to get more out of this piece than those who have not, but fortunately the book does not hinge on having viewed Akira's films. It helps, but it's not required. This book is, in the creator's own words, a story that contains, "hope at its heart". For that reason, it's successful.

The art is great, but I'm speaking as someone who doesn?t read graphic novels all that often. I can't compare it to any other artists out there. Maybe the television show "Grim and Evil", but that's a bit of a stretch. All I can say about it is that it conveys the story beautifully. I can't help but continually go back to parts of it over and over again. I don't know why, but this book speaks to me. Morse is equally adept with his dialogue. The Hawaiian Pidgin English is dead on and often lyrical.

I keep trying to find graphic novels that will help introduce newbies to the medium. This is an excellent starter g.n. with the kind of appeal that will entrance adults and children alike. We rarely see art forms that are of equal interest to kids AND their older counterparts. Thanks to books like, "The Barefoot Serpent", it's becoming less rare.