PAPERBACK
Author: Vincent Brugeas, Yoann Guillo and Ronan Toulhoat
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
£11.99 inc. VAT
ISBN: 9781800440944
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/cossacks-1-the-winged-hussar-p-4511.html
1634, Ukraine. Karlis, a young Winged Hussar of Poland-Lithuania, sickened by the carnage of war, deserts. To wash their honour, the men of his old unit hunt him mercilessly, while two people secretly observe the pursuit. They are Cossacks, from a people of freedom-loving warriors … and it is with them that Karlis will eventually find refuge. But if he left his regiment, it’s also because of the last orders he was given, which he refused to follow: the king of Poland-Lithuania wants the Cossacks disarmed …
Yeah, one thing to remember is war is nothing new in certain areas of the world and here is a quick history lesson so you have context: The major event of the 17th century as far as the Zaporozhian Cossacks of the Ukraine were concerned was the savage uprising against the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This began in 1647/8. It should be noted that such uprisings were not uncommon, but this one achieved considerable early success and independence was apparently won in 1654. In reality domination of these Cossacks transferred to the Muscovite Tsar and he turned out to be a worse master than the Poles.
The cover has the definite look of a late 1960s/early 1970s movie poster and it looks eye-catching enough for me to have noticed it quickly while unpacking the books. The story is solid enough and no complaints there. The art style is one that I've seen before and it is a style you get to see though Toulhoat and Guillo do a great job on the costumes, weapons and the look of the period. Guillo's colour work carries the art up a level though I am guessing this is colouring via computer rather than hand coloured.
There are some graphic fight scenes (it's an uprising after all!) and some intrigue so it will be interesting to see how this series develops. If you like stories set during historical conflicts you never hear about -before I got into history I had only heard of this conflict via the Yul Bryner and Tony Curtis film Taras Bulba (1962).
One to add to the Want List?
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