by
Michael Moorcock (Author), Chris Roberson (Author), Francesco Biagini
(Illustrator)
Publisher
: BOOM! Studios; Original edition (February 7, 2012)
Softcover,
128 pages
There are three volumes
to this story, but I have only bought the first. I may or may not buy the rest.
Let’s see what kind of deal I can get on them. Two things you need to know
about this series right off the bat. Michael Moorcock’s name is on this, but he
had nothing to do with its story, but all of the characters (except one) come
from his various stories. Don’t worry though, this story is definitely in the
style of Moorcock, and the writers are well versed in Moorcock’s worlds for
they are well represented here. So while this isn’t written by the man himself,
the plot certainly could have been.
Second, this series is
called Elric, but it's more to do
with the Eternal Champion of Moorcock's multiverse. I suppose they just gave it
that title due to the character being the most popular of the Eternal
Champions. For those who are unaware, the Eternal Champion was Moorcock’s way
of connecting all of his various stories and characters through a central
archetype. The Champion is a
semi-conscious appointed warrior of Balance who exists in every world and age
of the Multiverse. His mission is to keep the balance between order and chaos.
If either side becomes too powerful in one dimension then it is doomed.
Additionally they all seem to have an unbreakable bond with a sentient
Chaos-aligned weapon, the Black Sword, which in turns takes on a different
shape for each Champion. Champions are forbidden to coexist in the same
dimension, unless some sort of massive catastrophe is underway - as is the case
in this series, but what is exactly the source of this lost balance is not
revealed in volume one.
Which leads us to another
problem. If you aren’t sufficiently knowledgeable in the various works of
Moorcock, beyond Elric, you might be
lost or miss the significance of much of the material. If you know Moorcock,
then you will certainly enjoy the ride. Four protagonists are presented here.
The first is the titular Elric, traveling the moonbeam roads between universes
with his signature sword Stormbringer. Next is Duke Dorian Hawkmoon von Köln
who is uncovering a remnant of the Beast Lords who survived the last decisive
war. Corum Jhaelen Irsei, Corum of the Silver Hand, who rescues an old friend
then goes to thwart an attack of order creatures, only to come across a version
of the Runestaff - which readers might recognize as part of the Hawkmoon series. And a new member of the
Von Bek family, Eric Beck. The family is often picked to be a part of the
Eternal Champion down through the multiverse. Also making appearances are
Oswald Bastable, and the cast of the Second
Ether series.
Eric Beck being the new character and
oblivious to his role, should have been the entrance cypher for the readers,
but as of the fourth issue here he hasn’t been. All the protagonists are given
the same amount of page space- for good or ill. However, it does make the
assumption that people are well versed in the many short stories and books of
Moorcock as the author. If everything in the previous passage comes across as
gibberish, you may not enjoy this graphic novel as well as you might.
For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst
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