New Swedish Books, Spring 2018 1
71 Spring 2018 FABIAN GÖRANSON och riddarna Fabia
n Göranson (b. 1978) Martilo and the Knights Publisher Sanatorium www.sanatorium.se Rights Sanatorium jens@sanatorium.se Selected Works Gaskriget 2006 Inferno 2010 Martilo och helgonet 2017 SANATORIUM Martilo and the Knights The Knights’ code of honour during the Middle Ages wasn’t all that honourable when it came down to it. For the pillaging Crusaders greed and ambition stand out as equally strong driving forces just as much as Christian virtues. This hypocrisy is a rich source of comedy to the modern reader, proved by Fabian Göranson as he once again returns to the odyssey of the young knight Martilo. Fabian Göranson has previously depicted political resistance and revolt in Gaskriget and composed a poignant comic book interpretation of August Strindberg’s ’Infernocrisis.‘ In the books about Martilo, Göranson demonstrates a different side. These are sparklingly fun adventures for slightly older children, where he lets go of his inhibitions and surrenders to his own whims. Borrowing freely both from classic European comic books like Johan and Peewit and the gory absurdity of Monty Python, he lets Martilo fight against unreliable giants, revengeful princesses and massive snails. The violence in the book is illustrated through softly rounded ink drawings and a finetuned sense of comic timing, which keeps the illustrations just on the right side of appropriate for children. Martilo and the Knights is a stand-alone continuation of the book Martilo och helgonet. Photo: My Gudmundsdotter