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Isle of 100,000 Graves Paperback – June 15, 2011
| Fabien Vehlmann (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
A treasure map leads to an island with a terrible secret in Jason’s new graphic novel.
Five years ago, little Gwenny’s father found, inside a bottle, a map with instructions on how to reach the mysterious Isle of 100,000 Graves and its legendary treasures ― and then he vanished. Now Gwenny, having stumbled across another bottle-shipped map, enlists the dubious help of a shipful of pirates, sets out to find the island, and her long-lost dad.Little does she realize that the Isle comes by its ominous name honestly, as the location of a secret school for executioners and torturers, where apple-cheeked youngsters are taught the finer points of extracting information from prisoners… and then putting an end to their lives in a wide variety of gruesome ways. And they’ve reached the point in their studies where theory should ideally give way to practice, so an influx of uninvited visitors comes as a blessing to the faculty.
And yes, this story is a comedy. Albeit a dark one.
For the first time in his career, Jason has enlisted a writer: Fabien Vehlmann. (Vehlmann has written a number of graphic novels for the French and American markets, including an installment of the legendary Spirou series and the three-volume Green Manor continuity, of which two volumes have been released in English.) Vehlmann has managed to interiorize Jason’s deadpan style and wit perfectly, creating a uniquely smooth and successful collaboration. 56 pages of full-color comics
- Print length56 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherFantagraphics
- Publication dateJune 15, 2011
- Grade level8 - 11
- Reading age13 - 16 years
- Dimensions7.1 x 0.3 x 10 inches
- ISBN-101606994425
- ISBN-13978-1606994429
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Editorial Reviews
Review
― Ian Chipman, Booklist
"...Vehlmann and Jason cram a surprising amount of plot and character development into this graphic novella, yet the book has a pleasantly unhurried pace and plenty of room for gags. ...the collaboration with Vehlmann was clearly quite fruitful for both artists."
― Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter
"Isle of 100,000 Graves is an inventive and original tale, filled to the brim with absurd and hilarious dialogue, delivered with impeccable timing by Fabien Vehlmann. The story is brought to life with wonderful artwork by Jason, and eye popping colours by Hubert. I can’t recommend this book highly enough, I don’t think I’ve laughed this much at a comic in years!"
― Edward Kaye, Hypergeek
"Jason’s deadpan, anthropomorphic characters make his books must-reads for me."
― Gene Ambaum, The Unshelved Book Club
"This is an absolutely hilarious adventure romp ... Jason’s hangdog art style perfectly complements the deadpan humour [Vehlmann]’s penned here. A child running rings round all and sundry is a tale that’s oft been told, but rarely with the panache and wit displayed you’ll find within these pages."
― Jonathan Rigby
About the Author
Fabien Vehlmann’s 7 Psychopaths, illustrated by Sean Phillips (Criminal, Incognito), will be released by BOOM! Studios in English in late 2010; Vehlmann lives in Paris, France.
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Product details
- Publisher : Fantagraphics (June 15, 2011)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 56 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1606994425
- ISBN-13 : 978-1606994429
- Reading age : 13 - 16 years
- Grade level : 8 - 11
- Item Weight : 7.5 ounces
- Dimensions : 7.1 x 0.3 x 10 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,230 in Fantagraphics Comics & Graphic Novels
- #3,817 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Gwenny is a young girl whose father vanished five years ago after finding a bottle containing a map said to lead to treasure. Determined to find out what happened to her father -- and desperate to escape her abusive mother -- she manages to wrangle her way onto a pirate ship and blackmail one of the sailors into helping her. But the island is far more dangerous than she or the pirates could have imagined -- it's the home of an academy to train executioners! If Gwenny's going to learn what became of her father and escape alive, she'll need all her resourcefulness, the dubious aid of her pirate ally, and the help of Tobias, a student from the academy who's having doubts about his chosen career...
As always, Jason's artwork is quirky yet enjoyable, with its blank-eyed animal characters and its blocky, cartoony landscapes and designs. The characters are mostly blank-faced and don't emote much, but what emotions they do convey are subtly understated, conveyed more via body language than facial expression. And I actually like the subtlety -- manga and most Western comics often rely on greatly exaggerated facial expressions to convey emotion, so it's nice to see a work that can understate emotions without falling into the "dull surprise" category.
The story itself lacks some of the weirder elements of Jason's usual work, but is still highly enjoyable. It has plenty of action, some heartfelt moments, and even a generous dose of black humor -- because really, what other sort of humor do you expect from a school that trains executioners? Gwenny proves to be a clever and resourceful character, and Tobias an unexpectedly sensitive and helpful ally.
An enjoyable and unexpectedly (if darkly) humorous comic, "Isle of 100,000 Graves" is a good collaboration, and perfect for people who don't mind a bit of quirky in their graphic novels. Just be prepared for some macabre subject matter...
This "Treasure Island"-esque adventure sees a young girl finding a map in a bottle and setting off with a pirate crew to find her missing father. She escapes with a one eyed pirate before the ship sights land, saving her life, and begins to explore the strange island of 100,000 graves. But is her father in one of those graves? And what are those odd masked people doing on the island?
The book kind of reminds me of "True Grit" in that the steely young girl and the one eyed gruff man setting out on this quest were similar to the two main characters in "True Grit", but the book isn't nearly as serious, focusing instead of a comedic "School of Executioners" on the island. The book is much wordier than the average Jason comic book and I put that down to Vehlmann's presence, adding some excellent dialogue to Jason's unique drawing style.
It's similar to Jason's 2008 book "The Last Musketeer" in terms of lightness of storytelling and focus on action/comedy and his longtime colourist Hubert does wonderful work too, adding to the book's fun tone. The book ends on a distinctly Jason-esque ending and, like all of his books, is over all too soon but I definitely enjoyed it like I do all of his books. If you're a Jason fan you won't be disappointed, and if you're into indie comics then you'll like this too. A great read!
This actually seemed reasonably kid-friendly, if you're OK with the bizarre & offbeat—maybe not for little kids, though. I was reminded of ‘True Grit’ (the Coen brothers film) due to the main character's youth and bold moxie.
Incidentally, this ‘graphic novelette’ uses a fluid, 9-panel grid layout—3 rows, of 3 panels each, in portrait orientation—allowing for the occasional combined widescreen panel, for scene-setting or when the action warrants it. The other books I've read by Jason use a stricter 8-panel grid. (An earlier work, ‘The Last Musketeer’, used a similar 9-panel grid, but perhaps not quite so effectively.)
TWs for child abuse, violence, and light gore (no blood)
This story is a breath of fresh sea air. A little like if Martin McDonagh wrote a Pirate script then had it directed by Wes Anderson. Here's hoping Jason and Velhmann collaborate again soon!
Top reviews from other countries
This "Treasure Island"-esque adventure sees a young girl finding a map in a bottle and setting off with a pirate crew to find her missing father. She escapes with a one eyed pirate before the ship sights land, saving her life, and begins to explore the strange island of 100,000 graves. But is her father in one of those graves? And what are those odd masked people doing on the island?
The book kind of reminds me of "True Grit" in that the steely young girl and the one eyed gruff man setting out on this quest were similar to the two main characters in "True Grit", but the book isn't nearly as serious, focusing instead of a comedic "School of Executioners" on the island. The book is much wordier than the average Jason comic book and I put that down to Vehlmann's presence, adding some excellent dialogue to Jason's unique drawing style.
It's similar to Jason's 2008 book "The Last Musketeer" in terms of lightness of storytelling and focus on action/comedy and his longtime colourist Hubert does wonderful work too, adding to the book's fun tone. The book ends on a distinctly Jason-esque ending and, like all of his books, is over all too soon but I definitely enjoyed it like I do all of his books. If you're a Jason fan you won't be disappointed, and if you're into indie comics then you'll like this too. A great read!
Also - is Jason suited to trying to fit in so many jokes and gags? We got off to a terrific start with the insane mother and the missing father - lovely and deep and Scandinavian - then got a bit lost in gags. It also moves horribly slowly.
I do have to ask myself - 'what was I expecting?' I think I was expecting something a bit more thoughtful and a bit better paced.
That said - I remain a fan of Jason's work - but might not buy one of his books so eagerly online without having a gander at it first.







