New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
71 Spring 2017 av Fabian Göranson Fabian Göransso
n (b. 1980) Martilo Publisher/rights Sanatorium Förlag info@sanatorium.se www.sanatorium.se Works Gaskriget (Ordfront 2006) Kirurgi (Galago 2008) August Strindbergs inferno (Kolik 2010) Martilo Martilo is a loving yet respectful celebration of the European tradition of adventure comics. Through sun-drenched scenery, inspired by the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, Fabian Göransson recounts a time of saints and miracles and how the Church powers decide to capitalise on them. When the city of Arps is threatened by occupation the young knight Martilo is tasked with procuring Santa Helias, the most saintly of all the saints, and the only one they believe is capable of delivering the city and its praised rose gardens from its deadly predicament. Martilo is a nonsensical and nonheroic comic book with a central character that probably should have been diagnosed with Asperger’s. His journey and the comic book itself are marked by an unrestrained sense of wacky humour. Nothing is too absurd in Göransson’s world where both violent and holy men (more often than not one and the same) are lambasted. The completely bonkers content is well served by the skilled drawing style and will leave few readers unmoved. Photo: My Gudmundsdotter