Joan

    (ComicsOne, 2001)
™ and © Comics One

With two movies in the past few years, Joan of Arc is a contemporary international heroine again. Are readers ready for the manga version? Turn back the clock to 1440. Locked in the Hundred Years War, France is embroiled in a battle of succession. King Charles fights the rebellious forces who support his upstart son Louis, the Dauphin. Can the uncanny reincarnation of Joan ensure his hold on the crown?

Emily was raised a boy by Baudricourt, who once tended La Pucelle (Joan). Now motivated to support her tottering monarch, Emily follows in the footsteps of her famous predecessor. Inspired by visions of Joan, she forges her own identity against brigands, knaves, and the rapacious Louis himself. Can Emily preserve her secret and her idealism, as she walks down the dangerous road between heroism and martyrdom?

Cast in pastel watercolors, this series embarks confidently on its own solitary crusade in the oft-ignored genre of historical drama. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko assiduously meshes fiction with fact to create a tale that is not only believable but true to the spirit of the times. The requisite swordplay and bodice-ripping aside, Joan manages to entertain convincingly when many a film has not. Faith in the character, not merely a character’s faith, is the foundation of a successful tale.

— Oliver Chin
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