Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 17

Halfway through! Yahoo!

What Happens

The Unseen

Puck steals the keys and frees Guts (after wringing out a thank you). They sneak back to Farnese’s tent to get Guts’s things and knock her out, but a guard spots them and forces Guts to take her hostage to escape. He sets her tent on fire and lets the horses loose, but Serpico follows behind him in the confusion.

When Farnese regains consciousness Guts tells her he’s not letting her go until she answers some questions, dangling her over the rocky ground when she refuses to cooperate. Puck tries to apologize for Guts’s behaviour but realizes she can’t see him. Serpico, however, seems to see the spirits that fly past him.

Night of Miracles

The spirits swarm Guts and the others. Farnese can feel their touch if not see them. The horse stumbles and throws them off, into a pack of wild dogs the spirits promptly possess. Farnese refuses to believe her eyes, but Guts tells her that’s why it’s a miracle as he starts killing them.

Past and Future

Farnese tries to mount the horse and run, but it’s possessed too, and almost does things the other way around. Guts rushes back and decapitates it. Puck wonders why that provoked him so much and receives an impression of Casca’s rape.

As the sun comes up Farnese is shaken by the fact she was unable to call on God the entire time.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 16

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have said "definitely."

What Happens

Monster

Jill’s father (his name is Zepek) and the Holy Iron Chain Knights arrive at the site of Guts’s battle with the guardians, who are so thoroughly scattered and mutilated it’s initially taken to be the work of cannon and a whole squad of soldiers. Serpico, one of Farnese’s lieutenants, deduces that nope, it’s actually one man with a really big sword. The Knights are now convinced Guts is the prophesied Hawk of Darkness.

The elves swarm Guts, but he kills them by diving into the flames, extinguishing himself with the fluid from a cocoon.

Sky Demon

Rosine tries to attack Guts, but the trees prevent her from maneuvering. Amidst the flames she transforms into her full Apostle form. Everything is in ruins, but she vows that she’ll fly elsewhere and start anew, so long as she has Jill. But first, Guts has to pay.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 15

Okaaayyy...This is way later than it should have been and I don't have any real excuse for it. Let's see if we can get back on track. The next update will definitely be up next Sunday.

What Happens

Queen

Seeing the elves’ mischievous attitude and disdain for “grown-ups”, Puck realizes they’re children – human children. Seeing Puck talking to Guts, the queen, larger than the rest, tauntingly calls him “Peekaf”, and Jill seems to recognize her voice. She throws herself in front of Guts when the queen tries to attack him, calling her “Rosine.” Hearing this, the queen calls the others off and leaves.

The villagers are horrified by Guts’s actions, but he only laughs, reminding them that none of them raised a finger to help the boy. Then someone realizes there are bodies burning in the wreckage – children’s bodies.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 14

This is last Sunday's update (late, obviously) in the interest of keeping a once-a-week schedule. The next volume will be up (hopefully - I have a busy weekend ahead) on Sunday.

What Happens

Demon Infant

The Skull Knight explains that the cave he brought Guts and Casca to will hide them from demons. Elves used to live in these mountains, so the earth’s energy remains strong and thus shields their presence (is there a fantasy equivalent of technobabble?). He also says the fortuitous circumstances of the last few days are all a matter of chance.

Casca is surrounded by spirits, but they’re not attacking her. She suddenly collapses in pain, and something small and fetus-like drops out from between her legs. The Skull Knight says it’s her child, corrupted when she was raped by Griffith, and it would be best to kill it now; it will only cause trouble. But Casca desperately tries to defend it, Guts hesitates since it’s obvious who the father is, and the child vanishes with the daylight. The Skull Knight realizes what’s going on and tells Guts he’ll see it again – children yearn for their parents, after all.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 13

The longest one yet, but hey, the Eclipse is a pivotal part of the story and deserves the extra analysis.

What Happens

Storm of Death, Chapters 1-2

As Rickert watches from hiding, Zodd and the Skull Knight continue to fight. Zodd is ostensibly supposed to be guarding the way into the whirlwind but claims he’s only interested in continuing his feud with the latter, who does not deny that he came because of his millennium-long rivalry with the Godhand.

Inside the whirlwind, Corkus flees in terror, convincing himself everything has been a dream before allowing himself to be killed by a demon disguised as a naked woman. Casca is rescued by Pippin and Judeau, the former buying them time while the latter carries her off on horseback. Despite his best efforts to protect her, Judeau is killed. As he dies he reflects to himself that he never got his chance to tell Casca “that important thing.” Demons swarm over Casca, tearing off her clothes and armor.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 12

What Happens

Requiem of the Wind

At the Midland border, Casca finally explains the truth of Griffith’s condition and it starts to truly sink in – the Band of the Hawk is finished. Someone mentions that Casca could still take command, but Judeau says that’s asking too much of her after everything she’s done already. However, she says she’ll think about it until they meet up with Rickert’s group.

Guts wants to tell everyone not to give up, but Casca stops him, telling him afterwards that such words hold no weight with Griffith the way he is. From inside his wagon, Griffith sees them as Casca rests her head on Guts’s chest.

More Than Just a Barbarian: Introducing Newcomers to Conan the Cimmerian

Inspired by the release of the new Conan film and a “Momoa isn’t AHNOLD” comment on Facebook, I started wondering which of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories would be the best to introduce a newcomer to the genuine article. Not necessarily my personal favorites (although the two do mostly overlap), just which ones would provide a good sample of the original stories. Given the movie’s poor reception, it’s probably more crucial than ever to let people know there’s more to Conan than Schwarzenegger and the quest to avenge his parents. Really, there’s no reason to be limited by that when so many of Howard’s stories have straightforward plots with plenty of underlying thematic depth that could translate well to the big, or even small screen. And if there’s no faithfully-adapted film to draw people to Howard’s work, then maybe a select sample of his best stories, or at least his best Conan stories, is the alternative for getting people to realize there’s plenty of material already available without the need for an origin story. And the more interest there is in the originals, the more chance there is (hopefully) that they’ll get the treatment they deserve.

With that in mind, my criteria in picking stories were:

• Show Conan in a variety of occupations and situations, with a variety of outcomes. As conceived by Howard he was more than a muscle-bound caveman who slays the monster/(probably non-white) sorcerer and heads off into the sunset with the girl over his shoulder and the treasure under his arm every time, and one of the points of this is to show that he was far more complex and interesting than that.

• Choose ones with strong female characters. As a corollary to the above. Women in these stories weren’t always scantily-clad damsels in distress and that’s equally worth pointing out.

• They should be some of the best Conan stories plain and simple. After all, what better way to introduce something than to show how good it can be? 

This is meant to be roughly in reading order rather than a ranking of quality. Also, if you “newcomer to Robert E. Howard’s Conan” applies to you, be advised that everything after the list contains spoilers.

1.       The Phoenix on the Sword

• This one just feels like it’s meant to be read first. Not only does The Nemedian Chronicles serve as a great encapsulation of the Hyborian Age, but much of the description and characterization of Conan dwells on how he’s a barbarian among civilized men and uncomfortable with their ways, which the reader already knows if they’ve read other stories. And since it can’t help but introduce Conan and really highlight the underlying themes of the stories as a whole, having been written first, I really can’t think of a better place to start.

2.       The Tower of the Elephant

• Highlights Conan’s career as a thief and gives a different take on the way monsters and treasure are usually handled in sword-and-sorcery stories. These stories may have helped launch the genre, but they’re anything but typical, and Tower of the Elephant shows that nicely.

3.       Queen of the Black Coast

• Introduces one of Howard’s strong female characters in Bêlit, and gives us a glimpse of Conan’s intelligence and philosophical side. His speech to Bêlit is far more poetic than “crush your enemies” and alongside his relationship with her demonstrates his complexity as a character.

4.       Beyond the Black River

• This story powerfully illustrates not only the clash between civilization and barbarism that underlies many of the other stories, but also its complexity and nuances in the contrast between the situations of the Pictish natives and Aquilonian settlers, and the fact that Conan, a barbarian, is working for the civilized Aquilonians. What’s more, Conan isn’t even the main character, or the only one who performs worthy deeds.

5.       Red Nails

• We have Valeria, another strong female character who more than anyone except Bêlit is a skilled adventurer in her own right, and gets to demonstrate it in-story. It also has an effective demonstration of the savagery that lies beneath a civilized exterior, with the remnants of past glories contrasted with a bloody feud that reminds us how dangerous, and ultimately petty, they can be.

I wanted to keep it to just a few, so obviously there are some omissions that would otherwise be worthy. The Frost Giant’s Daughter, of course, because it shows Conan as a pure warrior. That is part of his character, after all, but it’s easy without a close reading to assume Conan is motivated purely by his own desire to rape Atali. Not really the best idea when giving recommendations to someone who knows nothing about him or thinks that’s all there is to his views on women. I also would’ve included Black Colossus, which does the best job of showcasing Conan as a leader of men (it didn’t make the cut because he gets the girl, but even with the outlined criteria I’m sure that’s probably a bit arbitrary), as well as People of the Black Circle, which is the best “Conan vs. sorcerers” story and shows it’s possible for women to not swoon before his rugged manliness by the end of the story.

I don’t think this would necessarily be the best introduction to Howard in general, but I still haven’t read enough of his work to make that kind of judgement. However, since Conan is his most recognizable character, maybe he’d make a good “gateway” into reading Howard?

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 11

What Happens

Devil Dogs, Chapters 1-4

The Black Dog Knights were created during the war, when a shortage of troops forced the King to draw on the able-bodied criminals of the kingdom. Their prowess was equal to the Hawks, but they were notorious for butchery and plunder regardless of which side their victims were on, tolerated only out of need and sent to remote battlefields. Worst of all is their leader Wyald, and the King believes he isn’t even human.

A family of farmers is more than happy to help the hero Griffith by giving the Hawks a place to rest and lending them a cart, but after they leave the Black Dogs show up, killing the family but raping the women first. As they pursue the Hawks Guts breaks away to buy the others time, meaning to do it alone but offering no objection when Pippin joins him. But no matter how many they kill the Black Dogs keep coming, and Guts realizes it’s because they’re afraid of Wyald, who steps up to fight Guts and stops his sword bare-handed. Guts realizes Wyald’s giving off the same feeling he got from Zodd and the Skull Knight.

Breaking away from the fight, Guts and Pippin make it over the nearby bridge just as Casca sets off the barrels of gunpowder they planted underneath. Many of the Black Dogs are killed, and the others are reluctant to follow directly when the rest of the road is likely booby-trapped as well, but the thrill-seeking Wyald scares them into action, exulting as he plows through every trap the Hawks have set.

They reach Corkus and the rest of the rescue team, and Guts challenges Wyald while the others fight his men. Wyald mentions hearing about Guts from Zodd, which confirms the latter’s suspicions. It takes everything Guts has to stand against him, yet he’s fighting by pure reflex.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 10

What Happens

Sparks From a Sword Tip

For the past year, Guts has been living in the mountains with a man named Godo, who’s been a blacksmith all his life but has never questioned why he does it. However, seeing the sparks when he hammers iron makes him feel like he’s seeing his life before his eyes. Hearing this, Guts draws a parallel to what happens when he swings his sword in battle, and he realizes that’s truly the life for him.

                                                                                      

Back in the present, Casca asks Guts is he’s back for good, but he isn’t – only long enough to rescue Griffith. She gets angry over that, complaining that he’s just like Griffith, thinking only of himself and his dream. Then he suggests she come with him when the rescue’s over.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 9

What Happens

Knight of Skeleton

Camping alone in the woods, Guts encounters a mysterious stranger – a knight with a skull-shaped helmet who gives Guts, whom he calls the “Struggler,” a warning: in one year the Eclipse will occur, when Guts and all his friends will be gathered together with “those yet unseen of the fleshless flesh” to face a death they cannot escape.

It is raining back in Windham as Griffith is admitted to Princess Charlotte’s room through the window. She tries to tell him about the emotional turmoil she’s been through in the past half-year, what with his departure for battle and the death of her stepmother, but Griffith just kisses her.

Conan vs. Khal Drogo - Either way, it'd be one hell of a fight

As of the Game of Thrones panel at ComicCon this past weekend Jason Momoa is now on record as staying that in a fight between Khal Drogo and Conan the Cimmerian, “Drogo would kick Conan’s ass.” This doesn’t seem to have evoked much opposition at the panel itself, but there’s since been some discussion on whether that’s a smart thing for Momoa to say in light of the upcoming Conan film. Should he be saying that a character he’s already played could beat up the character he’s playing in the film he’s supposed to be promoting right now?

From a marketing/PR perspective it certainly doesn’t help a film for the lead actor to say, even indirectly, that he doesn’t have confidence in the character he’s playing, especially if, as noted above, Conan’s the star of the film, whereas Khal Drogo is really only a secondary character unlikely to be seen again. I won’t presume to know whether he was genuinely speaking his mind or just being polite to Martin, or if it was a well-considered or simply spur-of-the-moment response, but I will say that he clearly enjoyed playing Drogo (based on his response; I haven’t seen the TV series yet, much to my frustration) and probably didn’t want to do him any disservice.

This post makes a good point in arguing that he could’ve done that by calling it a draw. Then again, calling the fight a draw might feel like a cop-out, and given the high-profile nature of the venue, it does kinda put him under pressure to give a straight answer. Although it’s true that we haven’t seen any real demonstration of Drogo’s prowess in the books (his fight from the TV series being an original scene; apparently it was Momoa’s idea (3:23 p.m.)), only hearsay and the praise of others, but I doubt, and certainly hope, that Martin didn’t mean it to be false. It definitely is smarter to promote what’s coming over what’s already finished, but regardless of who won I’m sure it’d be extremely close either way. It definitely feels like they’d be well-matched opponents, so it’s not like Momoa would be impugning on Drogo’s prowess if he went with Conan. Given Conan’s larger, more well-established legacy, he could always say that it’s a case of “beaten by the best.”

Maybe this will hurt the reputation of the Conan film, maybe it’ll all just be a splash in the pond that’s forgotten come August 19^th, maybe Momoa will change his mind at a later event; I don't think it matters a great deal. These “who would win?” arguments are, after all, primarily a matter of personal preference and taste, but we’ll inevitably get the wider fandom’s take on this match-up come the 2012 Suvudu Cage Match. It was probably gonna happen already, but I’d say now it definitely is.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 8

What Happens

The Battle for Doldrey, Chapters 5-6

Despite the paralyzing effect of the poison Casca manages to kill Sir Adon. Outside, Guts finds himself unhorsed, his sword split in two by Boscogn’s pole-axe. Then a large, cleaver-like sword drops from the heavens (thrown from a nearby clifftop by an unseen Zodd). Guts uses it to simultaneously decapitate Boscogn and his horse, and the defenders are thrown into a panic when they see the flag of the Hawks flying from Doldrey’s ramparts.

With Doldrey fallen the Holy Purple Rhino Knights retreat in disarray. Gennon pleads with Griffith, begging him to remember the night they shared together. But Griffith tells Gennon he feels nothing at all for him, he was only a tool to be used and discarded, and kills him. As the Hawks celebrate their victory, Zodd reflects that the time of the Eclipse will soon be at hand as he takes his leave.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 7

What Happens

Casca, Chapter 3

Following her rescue, Casca managed to make a life for herself as a mercenary. The fledgling Band of the Hawk continued to grow as it won victories on the battlefield, the men inspired by their heroic commander who retained a boyish innocence in spite of his achievements. But, as Casca would soon realize, his life was much darker beneath the surface.

The Hawks had found employment with a wealthy lord whose taste for young boys was an open secret. One night Casca spotted a (shirtless) Griffith on a nearby balcony, and saw the nobleman take him inside. The next morning she found him down at the river, tormented by what he had done but insisting he needed the money, and satiating a nobleman’s deviant lusts was better than earning it by fighting more battles; that would only cost them more troops, and the fact that so many already died helping him achieve his dream is tormenting him enough. It was then that Casca, awed by the strength of his conviction, vowed to give everything she had for him.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 6

What Happens

Master of the Sword, Chapter 2

Count Julius, the King’s brother, resents the rising prestige of commoners like Griffith, and how easily the King seems to accept it. Foss, one of the Royal Ministers, informs him of the rumor that his White Dragon Knights, one of the most distinguished units of the Midland army, may be replaced as the King’s bodyguard for the autumnal hunt, an honor they have always had, by none other than the Band of the Hawk. The Count is furious, but Foss reminds him that hunts are dangerous things, and you never know when a stray arrow might strike the wrong target…

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 5

What Happens

The Golden Age, Chapters 7-8

Guts successfully delays the enemy cavalry, his one brush with death averted by the timely return of Griffith, Pippin, and Judeau. Together they lead the enemy into the teeth of waiting cannons, forcing them to retreat. As Hawks celebrate their victory Guts is dragged from his attempted solitude and hailed by the men as one of them.

The next morning, Guts is summoned to see Griffith, and he finds him by the castle well, still naked after his morning bath. He douses Guts, which sparks a water fight. Afterwards, Guts notices Griffith is wearing a strange necklace, which the latter says he bought from a gypsy fortune teller, calling it the Behelit, and to Guts’s surprise, it seems to be alive. Griffith explains that according to legend the Behelit can offer its bearer the world in exchange for his flesh and blood. He then reveals to Guts his personal ambition – to someday have a kingdom of his own. Guts doubts the feasibility of it, but is struck by the strength of Griffith’s vision compared to his own aimlessness.

Last Season, Grey Clouds Hung Over Mossflower: A Tribute to Brian Jacques

Yes, this is five months late, but I had neither a blog nor the time for more than a moment of silence when I first read the news back in February. And this probably isn’t anything a million others haven’t already said either; that doesn’t make it any less true for me.

When the news of Jacques’s death first hit the internet there were countless tributes on how his books got the author into reading, or taught a kid they know that it didn’t have to be homework. I’m not one of them. Getting me to read as a kid was never a problem. But these are the first books I remember picking out myself, as opposed to something an adult thought I might like. It all started at the age of nine, when I went into a kids’ store with my brother and an aunt, saw the Redwall books on a bookrack and thought “hey, these look cool!” What followed was a journey that was one of the highlights of my early adolescence, as I eagerly read all the books available at the time, and waited for Christmas or my birthday to get my hands on the newest one.

My memory of what else I was reading when I started the series is hazy at best (try nonexistent), but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the Redwall series was my introduction to fantasy. They definitely cemented my love of adventures in imaginary, pseudo-medieval worlds, which describes way more fantasy than it should. But whatever the case may be, Redwall has been my gateway to many memorable books since, and my love of the genre is still going strong.

Sure, the series tended to be mostly straightforward “good woodlanders” and “evil vermin”, but they were still the books that really introduced me to the concept of ambiguity. I remember finding some vermin characters just as if not more interesting than the woodlanders, especially if they showed signs of not being wholly evil, and being saddened by more than a few of their fates. Nor were the plots particularly original, or all that different from book-to-book, but these stories of young heroes and colourful villains, filled with dark woods and unexplored caverns, mountain strongholds and pirate fortresses, and culminating in heroic battles were plenty cool to a kid discovering these concepts for the first time.

And, heroic battles between good and evil or not, these were books weren’t afraid to deal with violence and death. More than one young woodlander has to come to terms with the loss of a loved one or friend throughout. Sure, the good guys invariably win in the end, but not without cost. Even though graphic detail was avoided, they weren’t afraid to show children that yes, violence does kill people, not everyone bad is completely evil, and that sometimes it’s necessary to do things you’d rather not. All while still providing exciting adventures. Is it any wonder they were successful?

I may not have realized it at the time, but the Redwall series taught me a few things, and planted the first seeds of a love for fantasy that has led to many great reads since. So Mr. Jacques, even though you’ll never read this, and I’m probably only the billionth person to say it: thank you for your books and everything they’ve done for me. I hope there’s good October Ale on the other side of the Dark Forest Gates.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 4

What Happens

The Golden Age, Chapters 2-6

Donovan rapes Guts, claiming he paid Gambino for the privilege, but the next morning the latter seems unaware of what happen and Guts convinces himself Donovan lied. Later, Gambino’s men ambush a retreating enemy column and Guts kills Donovan in the confusion. In another battle, a cannon ball costs Gambino a leg, and his status as leader.

                Two years later, the other mercenaries have lost their respect for Gambino and he responds by lashing out at Guts. One night, he enters Guts’s tent and tries to kill him, blaming him for Shisu’s death and the loss of his status. He also reveals that Donovan did pay him, and he gladly accepted because of his hatred for Guts. Horrified, Guts kills Gambino.

During the fight a lamp is knocked over and causes a fire, which brings some of the other mercenaries rushing into the tent to find Guts kneeling over Gambino’s body. They try to stop Guts, but he manages to fight them off and escape. During the pursuit he is shot through the shoulder by a crossbow bolt and left for dead when he falls into a ravine. He isn’t, however, and despite of thoughts of how much easier giving up and dying would have been he fights off a pack of wolves and is found unconscious the next morning by another group of mercenaries, who take him with them as good luck.

                Four years later, after a castle gate is breached the rush into the courtyard is stopped by a heavily-armoured man named Bazuso, the enemy general’s pleas to knightly honour and the chance for fame falling on deaf ears among the mercenaries under his command. Then, one young soldier steps up and agrees to fight Bazuso after negotiating his reward with the general. Bazuso taunts this “greenhorn” and the paltry reward he’s about to die for, but against the odds the young soldier, none other than Guts, kills him. 

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 3

A bit longer this time, but with the conclusion of The Guardians of Desire there was a bit more to say.

What Happens

The Guardians of Desire, Chapters 4-6

The Count taunts a seemingly unconscious Guts, mocking the fragility of human beings, until Puck calls him out, arguing that by becoming a demon in order to hide from his pain, he’s the fragile one. The Behelit falls out of Guts’s pouch and Puck tries to escape with it, but they're interrupted by the arrival of Theresia, who recognizes her father’s face on the monster she sees before her. Guts reveals he was only faking unconsciousness but causes the Count to hesitate by taking Theresia hostage, which gives Guts an opening to shoot the him with his hand cannon and, because his fingers are broken, take his sword in his teeth (!!) and decapitate him. He then repays the Count for his earlier taunts by torturing him in front of Theresia. As he lies bleeding to death, the Count calls out desperately that he doesn’t want to die and his blood flows onto the Behelit, which causes it to rearrange itself into a face and cry tears of blood, transporting everyone to a new dimension that resembles an M.C. Escher drawing. The Brand reacts especially strong as five beings the Count calls “the Great Ones” emerge from the shadows.
 

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 2

A bit later than I was hoping, but here's Volume 2

What Happens

The Guardians of Desire, Chapter 2 & 3

The physician reveals himself to be Vargas, formerly the personal physician of the Count, and tells the story of how the Count obtained the Behelit, and how he became the way he is. Seven years ago the Count, always a cruel man, came into possession of the Behelit, supposedly by chance, and became truly monstrous. He subjected prisoners to horrendous tortures and began to eat their flesh, his quest against heresy no more than an excuse to acquire fresh victims. Wanting no part in it, Vargas tried to flee with his family, only to be caught, mutilated, and forced to watch the Count eat his family. Feigning his death with a concealed poison (where, I wonder?), he managed to steal the Behelit and escape, but despite seven years studying religion and the occult he has been unable to deduce its purpose – which Guts promptly explains. The Behelit is a key to another dimension, the means to summon demons who have manipulated humanity from the shadows since ancient times – the five members of the Godhand…

                Meanwhile, Zondark, the captain of the guard, has lost his eye in the recent fight with Guts and hungers for revenge, which he is offer the chance to do after receiving a rather disgusting boon from the Count. Back at the laboratory, Puck examines the Behelit curiously, only to discover it’s alive. Vargas shows Guts a map of the castle and a secret passage, begging the former to avenge what the Count has done to him, but Guts rebuffs him; he’ll kill the Count, but only because it suits his own purposes. Zondark bursts into the hideout and proves to have become something other than human when the dismemberment of his right arm results in an alien, tentacle-like appendage growing to replace it. The new limb is able to swing his battle-axe with blinding speed, and Vargas and Puck look on in awe as Guts seemingly blocks every blow. The loss of half his head proves to not be much of a deterrence either when the Count-faced demon the latter gave to Zondark emerges from the wound to taunt Guts and Vargas, but the former cuts some ceiling beams that trap Zondark, knocked-over candles setting the lab on fire as the rest make their escape.

                Emerging from the sewers, Guts rudely takes the Behelit from Vargas and heads off to confront the Count. After exchanging some kind words with Vargas Puck follows after and chews Guts out for his ingratitude, but the latter insists Vargas would just be a liability. Meanwhile, the still-living Zondark captures Vargas.

                At Vargas’s execution, Puck sees Guts hiding nearby and thinks he’s come to rescue Vargas, but the latter, using the pretext that it’s a trap for him, insists he won’t, that this is the price Vargas has to pay for trying to oppose someone more powerful than him. Puck isn’t convinced and insists Guts is afraid he’s just like Vargas – caught up in something far over his head. Puck makes an attempt to save Vargas himself but only succeeds in bouncing off the headsman’s axe. Before his death, Vargas predicts that the Count will pay for his crimes and be dragged to Hell by his many victims.

Reread of the Hawk: Berserk, Volume 1

What Happens

The Black Swordsman
Guts, the Black Swordsman, kills some thugs in a local tavern in order to provoke their lord, the Baron of nearby Koka Castle, a mysterious man who eats the flesh of women and children sent by the town as tribute in order to guarantee its safety. The Lord Mayor tries to explain the town’s innocence in the incident to the Baron, only to find out the latter never had any intention of honoring their pact.

                In his cell, Guts is healed of the wounds he sustained after his arrest by Puck, a fairy-like elf whom he (indirectly) saved from the thugs in the tavern. Puck is horrified that Guts would sacrifice the entire town to pursue his own goals, but the latter brushes it off, saying those too weak to defend themselves don’t deserve to live. Puck then notices a strange mark on Guts’s neck, which the latter calls the Brand, and when it starts to bleed he knows the Baron has arrived.

                As the men of Koka Castle rampage through the town, Guts appears and proceeds to dispatch them in rapid succession with his repeating crossbow and oversized sword. Then the Baron appears and we find out he’s something called an Apostle, but Guts seemingly dispatches him as quickly as his men. Only for him to re-appear as a giant cobra/lizard-like monster who promptly gives Guts a sound thrashing, declaring himself unkillable by mortals. But Guts reveals you just need to get creative, and that he conceals a hand cannon in his artificial arm, as he proceeds to blast, cut in half, and skewer the Apostle before trapping him under a burning beam. He asks the still-living Apostle the whereabouts of a group called the Godhand is, which the former insists he doesn’t know – although he does recognize the mark on Guts’s neck as the Brand of Sacrifice. Unable to find out what he wants to know, Guts leaves him to burn to ash and departs the ruined town.

Reread of the Hawk - Prelude

Naming convention swiped from the Read/Reread series on Tor.com.

I was first introduced to Kentaro Miura’s fantasy manga Berserk through the anime adaptation, which is still very good in its own right, but the changes from the manga turn it into more of a medieval warfare story, which can make the ending somewhat of a shocker if, like me, you had no existing familiarity with the series. It’s still worth checking out if you’re looking for a good fantasy warfare anime with few magical or supernatural elements and don’t mind a downer ending. I enjoyed it a lot and was easily motivated to check out the manga once I learned it was much longer and more complex than the anime.  So shortly after seeing the anime I picked up volume 1 of the manga and promptly spent the next nine months wishing that the average manga volume couldn’t be blown through in 30 minutes.

Needless to say, Berserk is currently my favourite manga (which isn’t saying much given how few of them I read), primarily because it appeals to my sensibilities as a fan of dark, gritty fantasy with a pseudo-medieval setting. Of course, these are probably the same elements that turn people off the series – it’s hard to deny that this is a series filled with heavy, and rather gory, violence, shady, self-serving, or just plain unpleasant characters, and a seemingly endless string of bad events. That’s not to say that the story is all violence for violence’s sake, and over the course of this reread I’ll hopefully be able to shed some light on what (if anything) deeper meaning the story has to offer beyond an angry guy slicing up people with a giant sword.

Format-wise, I’ll be following the structure used in the various Tor.com series and probably a million other reads/rereads on the internet , summarizing the events of what I just read and then posting my reactions and analysis. The update schedule will be to do one volume at a time every few days, so I’d estimate updates about twice a week, but always at least once a week barring something truly unexpected, and  I might cheat a little reading-wise if a volume begins or ends with the first or last chapter of a story arc. This is my first attempt at this kind of reread, so I’m not sure how things will go at first,but you've got to start somewhere.

Since this is a reread, obviously I already know the story and should have an easy time spotting most of the hints and foreshadowing. However, for the purpose of this reading I'll try my best to suspend my judgement and evaluate a given volume only on what occurs in it and prior volumes.

So without further ado, on with the show. Expect the first update sometime tomorrow on Tuesday.

Introductions are in order...

Hi there, and welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere.  Me, I’m no one special (yet), just a university graduate (BA in Communications with Minor in History), aspiring writer, and newbie blogger who thought this would be a good way to practice his writing – and to force himself to produce something on a regular basis.

Right now I’m not really sure what to make this blog about, so I’ll in all likelihood use it to talk about things I like, primarily fantasy, anime, history, and whatever other geeky topic strikes my fancy at some point, as well as use it to blog about things I’m watching or reading at the moment. If I’m sufficiently able to get my act together, this will also serve as the repository for my first attempt at a NaNoWriMo novel. No idea how all this is going to turn out, but hopefully it’ll prove interesting to somebody.