Sharaz De: Tales from the Arabian Nights - Review

Sharaz De is yet another example of the hordes of comic books which utilizes the narrative only as a means to display the exemplary art. 

And let me tell you, Sergio Toppi's art redefines exemplary. Toppi's figures boast an almost cinematic quality to them, as their fluidity engenders an illusion that they are roaming around Toppi's phantasmagorical environments, even in the static world of comics. With his contorted yet crisp Gustav Klimt-esque textures rampant in his work, it is astounding how Toppi had been churning out comics with this  distorted charm 10, 20, to 30 years before more renowned American and British pencilers such as Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave McKean, Duncan Fegredo, and J.H. Williams III reached acclaim for their derivative aesthetic. What is arguably even more commendable is that Sergio Toppi always delivers his story visually in a perspicuous and coherent manner, in spite of  abandonment of the dime a dozen comic book grid, in favor of one page spread collages of faces, figures, and architecture. Imagine a sexier, more lurid Will Eisner, or a less minimalist variation of Mignola's covers. Brilliant as he is influential, Toppi really should be held in the same regards as a Jack Kirby or a Moebius.

However, no matter how technically brilliant, creative and masterful the art of a comic can be, it must be understood that comics is a collaboration between the plot and the visuals; These elements must be exploited hand in hand in order to properly utilize the medium's potential. A comic with the greatest art can suffer due to sub-par storytelling. This occurs ofttimes in adaptations of older literature such as this, with the penciler or painter takes advantage of the flatness of the source material as a excuse for their book to mainly if not solely rely on it's illustrations. Even with art as alluring as in Sharaz De, the art alone isn't incentive enough to keep the reader engaged.

 The superfluous framing sequence and the rudimentary morality plays that spin out of it do a gross injustice to the artwork, but this is the rare time in which I cannot help but feel that the aesthetic element of this work is so otherworldly in it's greatness that any other criticism of it's other aspects is moot.

7/10