Review by Frank Plowright
Tricksters marks a departure for the Storyteller series. It’s still four myths or legends following the title theme supplied by different creative teams, but for the first time no single story is the work of one creator. Four writers are accompanied by four artists.
The role of the trickster is common to myths, and one of their tricks is befuddlement. You may feel you don’t know any tricksters well, yet will find you do.
‘The Spinner of Stories’ concerns Anansi from West African folklore, drawn here by Jade Zhang with a human torso attached to a spider’s body when legends usually present him as a complete spider. Jonathan Rivera’s story combines a quest for the betterment of humanity with three side quests and a moral about pride preceding a fall. It’s a story that serves the title theme well, with trickery aplenty, yet is still the weakest offering.
Eshu originates in the Yoruba beliefs of what are now Nigeria’s southern states, and in ‘A Heart That Beats Forever’ Jordan Ifueko asks whether a trickster god can themselves be tricked. It’s cleverly plotted to deliver uncertainty throughout, makes good use of the Storyteller and his dog as commentators and saves a good surprise until the end. It’s also exquisitely drawn by Erin Kubo, the variety of techniques used shown on her sample art.
Reynard the fox is the trickster of European folk tales later transferred to North America. Amal El-Mohtar conceives some glorious nonsense as the fox tricks people at the market, while his companion the stork appeals too greatly to intellect and is unsuccessful. It provides a telling comment on humanity as applicable now as it is in a medieval marketplace populated by animals. They’re charmingly brought to life and given personalities by Isa Hanssen, and it’s noticeable how the glamour around the fox increases with each success.
A.L. Kaplan’s rendition of Loki seemingly draws on the spiky qualities of Mike Mignola’s figures and the decorative colour of P. Craig Russell, and those are two fine influences to have. Thor’s lost his hammer, and Loki is unaccountably helpful in agreeing to locate it. Of course, he’s nothing if not self-serving. Robin Kaplan’s adapts a funny story from the Norse legends collected in the Prose Edda unlikely ever to form part of Marvel’s Thor canon.
As in the companion volumes each artist brings their own approach to the storyteller himself and his dog, with the variations interesting. He’s generally friendly, but if called for he can also verge on the sinister.
The creators employed on Jim Henson’s The Storyteller may not be well known, but it’s a rare occasion when one doesn’t match the standards for what’s been a consistently readable series. Shapeshifters is next.
