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KING LEAR

"A book that's uncategorisable. King Lear is done as The Last of the Mohicans in the style of Japanese manga. The publisher has been criticised for playing it safe with its adaptations of the classics. This one is by no means safe and all the better for it."
- Roger Sabin, The Observer (August 2009)

"Ilya's unique vision stands as an alternative take on the original story, shaking up the established reading of the play and asking readers to rethink their ideas about the characters and their situation. A sense of doom is created simply by casting Lear as a native American pitted against the encroaching forces of the western world, and this in turn makes the ending yet more inevitable and tragic... this gripping adaptation brings to the table a totally unique way of looking at this classic story, and is well worth a look"
- Amanda Young, NEO Magazine (July 2009)

"a hit with teenagers"
- Camden New Journal, (May 2009)

“HOW SHARPER THAN A SERPENT’S TOOTH IT IS TO HAVE A THANKLESS CHILD!”
This manga version of King Lear is set during the era of The Last of the Mohicans – circa 1759, during a crucial era of invasion and displacement along the American frontier. Lear is a venerated Mohican (Iroquois) chieftain, entering his final days. His elder daughters Regan and Goneril – the evil pairing– are more westernised in their looks. Lear’s youngest daughter, Cordelia, with her Native American appearance, is the lone traditionalist who cleaves to the old ways.

In this unique interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragic tale, a mighty mountaintop snowstorm for the signature setpiece makes for a dramatic backdrop where savage torture and plentiful scalpings provide and update Shakespeare’s bloody action.

Ilya is a comic book writer and artist whose work has been published by Marvel, DC and Dark Horse in the USA, Kodansha in Japan, and numerous independent companies worldwide. His previous books include the Manga Drawing Kit for Thunder Bay Press; award-winning graphic novel series The End of the Century Club; It’s Dark in London for Serpent’s Tail; and Skidmarks, a charming kitchen-sink drama. Illustration clients include the BBC, Royal Academy of Arts, Times and Guardian newspapers, and most recently East End Life, for whom he crafts a regular strip. He also edits The Mammoth Book of BEST NEW MANGA (www.bestnewmanga.com)

KING LEAR

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