Member Reviews
'Kid Beowulf: The Song of Roland' by Alexis E. Fajardo continues the adventures of Beowulf and adds a whole bunch more epic characters from the age of heroes.
First we learn the real story of Charlemagne and his company of peers, larger than life heroes who couldn't possibly live up to everything they did in the myths. Then it gets taken into the world of this series. Beowulf and Grendel are on the run, and since the story alternates between them and the story of Roland, you know they will meet up.
Meanwhile Roland has made some enemies, including one that is making a themepark outside Paris that is named after him ("Ro-Land" anyone?). With an ailing Charlemagne and an advancing horde, it's time to figure out how to save Paris. And there are bad theatrics, to boot.
The book concludes with reading lists and references. I think I liked the first book a little more, but I still think this is a good way to interest young readers in early myths.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
While I was not aware that this was the second in a series, I found that I could still follow the plot. This is a great way to introduce young readers to the characters from the classic epic poems from France and England.
After the events found in Kid Beowulf: The Blood-Bound Oath, Beowulf and Grendel leave Daneland to find their Uncle Holger in France. But their arrival comes at a very bad time. Ganelon, Roland's step-father has seized control and had the Peers disbanded while Roland and Oliver parade around the country advertising for Ro-Land, the theme park going up outside Paris. And then there are the Saracens who are threatening to invade. Will the Peers manage a revolt? Will King Charlemagne recover? Will mayhem and madness cover the land? Or will the heroes win in the end? If you like your historical comics littered with asides and jokes in the fashion of Asterix, then read Kid Beowulf: The Song of Roland. And the bibliography does not hurt in clarifying what is "fact versus fiction" in the Song of Roland.
I couldn't take to this book at all, being a ridiculously childish look at the history of Charlemagne's knights in their battles against Islam, peopled by Beowulf and Grendel working together to do whatever it is they're doing while framing the historical reportage. The artwork is definitely on the poor side – with horrendous colouring, the comedy lame, the action OK, the framing device – meaning a lot of the meat of the book is in flashback – doesn't work, but the whole slapstick Crusades idea is what I really have an issue with. Teach kids about the ins and outs of those historical wars, by all means – but this isn't the way to go about it. I can't be the only one troubled about how inane the ongoing fight the West has against Islam looks in this cartoon.
I love love love that someone is retelling classics like this. I was excited about Beowulf but wasn't sure where the series would go from there, but the re-telling of the Song of Roland was a fantastic introduction for young readers. I can't wait to see what stories come next.