I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the Dungeon series created by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim because it seems like they’re trying to go Jorge Luis Borges one better and create not just an infinite book but an infinite series of books which will ultimately contain all of reality (or all of the reality of their fictional universe anyway). There are five series so far and the numbering system suggests there will be 300 volumes in the three main series alone—plus the concept seems to be that the universe develops as it is written (sort of like the role-playing games which are parodied in Dungeon) so who knows what new branches will appear over time.

 

But being brave of heart like a good warrior, I plunged right in with vol. 2 of The Early Years series and it was fine. The stories (two in this volume) make sense as self-contained entities and most of the references are to fairy tale/chivalric romance tropes already familiar to nearly anyone who has graduated from high school. Of course frequently those tropes are given an unexpected twist, but that’s part of the fun of the series. Besides, the art is so imaginative that you want to keep reading just to see more of it—like Lay’s potato chips, betcha can’t eat/read just one.

 

The first story in this volume, “Innocence Lost,” has our hero Hyacinthe trying to be valiant (he’s going to become Keeper of the Dungeon and is currently The Night Shirt, a caped vigilante) but not succeeding very well. He thinks he’s saving his lady fair, Alexandra, from a fate worse than death, only to end up with a case of the clap and crabs for his trouble. He’s a slow learner but after several more brushes with the rather fluid concept of justice and morality in several realms he seems to be catching on—or maybe he’s just lost his innocence, as the title says, without gaining wisdom.

 

The second story, “After the Rain,” takes place years later and opens in a graveyard during a rainstorm where Hyacinthe’s wife has just been buried. Not Alexandra but another woman he married and whom she killed because she wants him back. These are not nice people and this is not a series for kids—although if they’re old enough for Shakespeare they’re probably OK with these stories as well. Meanwhile the city of Antipolis, where Hyacinthe has become a big shot, is on the brink of collapse.

 

The Dungeon series takes place in a pre-Industrial world where there are lots of distinct territories with their own rules and customs and woe be to the outsider who runs afoul of any of them. Clothing styles suggest the eclectic middle ages as do the castles and villages. But magicians also play an important role in society and transportation is provided by giant snails and flying lizards, and yet there are also daily newspapers and a subway is under construction—you never know when you turn the page what the authors will come up with next.

 

The art is similar to Christophe Blain’s other work: detailed ink sketches plus a variety of expressive color palettes which indicate mood as well as location. There are a lot of very dark frames in this volume because a lot of it takes place underground or at night and sometimes the frames feel crowded, but I attribute that to artistic style plus the fact that the original French edition was printed in a somewhat larger format. It’s not enough to put me off the series, although you’ll definitely want your reading glasses if you’re old enough to need them. | Sarah Boslaugh