Obscure Comic of the Month - Gawain and the Green Knight

Obscure Comic of the Month is a column where I take a look at a comic or series that hasn't really been talked about. This covers independent comics, zines, weird spin-offs, webcomics and more.

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Gawain and the Green Knight by Emily Cheeseman – 2017

Mild Spoilers for a centuries old folk tale

Normally on these columns of mine we'd spend most of the time talking about the story of the comic I'm writing about, but things are a little different this month, since Emily Cheeseman's Gawain and the Green Knight is, as you've guessed, not an original tale, but rather an illustrated adaption of the ancient Arthurian myth, we're going to be looking more at story decisions and interpretation through adaption.

Standing more as a singular fable, rather than a core part of the larger canon of the Arthurian saga, Gawain and the Green Knight tells the story of the haughty and ambitious nephew of a now settled and ingrained King Arthur. Eager to prove his mettle, Gawain stands in for Arthur to take up the challenge set by the mysterious, and possibly supernatural, Green Knight. Cast a blow against the knight's neck, and be returned in kind within a year.

The Green Knight is one of those stories of which it's component parts can change from telling to telling. Most recently the 2021 film adaption chose to give the story a dark and surreal edge, leaving Gawain and the Knight's ultimate fate ambiguous. Cheeseman's take, by contrast, leans much more optimistically in it's flavour, Gawain is ultimately well meaning, though too quick in action, and his entire quest only begins in part due to Arthur doubting the Green Knight's supernatural prowess even exist.

Like most adaptions, Cheeseman has to decide what to keep and what to discard and so spends the majority of the book covering the later part of the story regarding the Lord and Lady of the Manor. She renders a mostly accurate version of this tale, reiterating the myth's themes of take and return, and chooses to ultimately link the subplot to the reveal that the Green Knight and the Lord of the Manor are one and the same. It's not a version of this character many adaptions choose to go by, but for me I find it a neat and tidy way of tying the story up, while hamming it's themes into a clear finale.

The entirety of Cheeseman's adaption is rendered wonderfully in her very simply shaded, but boldly coloured, characterization of the world and characters. The comic's mood sits somewhere between a picture book and concept art for an animated film. The characters are colourful but the simplicity of the design allows Cheeseman to communicate a definition to their personalities that a perhaps more gritty or cynical visual take would have made it harder to do.

Despite being a more faithful telling of the story without any significant twists or reinterpretations, Cheeseman manages to pull off probably the definitive version of the story in my eyes, and it's relatively direct and simple panel layout means I can go back to it regardless of what mood I'm in. While the comic is, if nothing else, ideal for any audience, as it loses nothing of its grand scale and sweeping vistas whether you're 9 years old or 90.

Gawain and the Green Knight is an expertly executed book, and highlights the vivid and magnetic quality that Cheeseman has as an artist and a storyteller. It's a warm and optimistic version of the story, but one that loses none of its wit or its sharpness, and is a clear example of why these stories and sagas from hundreds of years ago continue to resonate with us even today.

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Jack Harvey 2022. Gawain and the Green Knight (c) 2017 Emily Cheeseman . Images used under Fair Use.