Friday 25 May 2012

Fallen Words


Fallen Words Story and Art by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
One man keeps maintenance of a brothel, another finds himself keeping a mistress in secret from his wife, a man and his bratty son go to the market. Morality tales from the mind behind A Drifting Life.
If nothing else, Fallen Words is a fascinating experiment combining the concept of rakugo (a type of play very particular to Japanese culture) and the comics medium. The concept of morality tales for adults is interesting to say the least. These stories are definitely geared towards a mature audience as they frequently involve prostitution and infidelity.
This experiment is not without it’s problems however. It’s difficult to connect with the protagonists for the most part. The art certainly does not help matters feeling generally inexpressive. The stories also all end on a punchline which further detracts from the experience of reading this title.  Fallen Words is somewhat enjoyable but ultimately forgettable.
Fallen Words is available in print from  Drawn and Quarterly.

No comments:

Post a Comment