By Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-323-1 (HB/Digital edition)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a charismatic leader drags an entire nation into unnecessary war to save a political skin: manipulating facts, twisting good people’s lives, destroying their innocence and fomenting an atmosphere of sustained paranoia and unthinking patriotism – if not literal jingoistic madness. If we’re lucky he/she/they shuffle out of the picture and let their – generally incompetent but equally fervent – successors deal with the mess they’ve created: those remnants divided equally into well-meaning but clueless ditherers and now-fanatical disciples who think only they can run the show…
The land is in turmoil. Pa is raising a ruckus trying to get his monstrous ark built before ruthless invaders begin their final attack. Eldest girl Peggy and little Minerva follow as he carves a wake of destructive energy through the landscape. Pa has galvanised local villagers and they await his command to enter the fortress-city within the monolithic edifice, dubbed “Blessedbowl”. When Pa begins once more to assault his oldest lass, only hapless Minerva and the trees are witness to the unleashed savagery. Suddenly, a young man rushes to Peg’s rescue, captivating forever the cowering Min. His name is Lester, but despite a terrific struggle the rescuer is no match for Pa’s maniacal vigour. The young man is left brain-damaged and maimed.
Pa bids Min see to Lester. The Doomsayer is lost in his preparations again. The Crisis has arrived…
Three decades pass. Min has married Lester and a thriving community now exists within Blessedbowl, a permanent subsistence/siege economy built on paranoia, isolated and united by a common foe that has never been seen and is therefore utterly terrifying. Moses-like, Pa had remained behind when the ark was sealed, to fight a rearguard action. Min is now his regent, efficiently running the closed ecology and economy, bolstered by the devoted attention of Lester, the amnesiac war-hero who lost so much when the invisible enemy launched their final assault…
Min controls the community through reports from the distant front and Lester guards the city inside Blessedbowl’s hull. But now his befuddled memory is clearing, and Min, hopelessly in love with him, faces the threat that all that has been so slowly built may come crashing swiftly down…
And this is just the tip of the iceberg in a vast story that – despite being almost 15-years old – could well be the best thing you’ll read this year. Crafted by cartoonist and animator Cathy Malkasian (Percy Gloom, Eartha, NoBody Likes You Greta Grump, Curious George, The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats,) during America’s longest-running war, this multi-layered, incisive parable examines how families and countries can be twisted by love, fear and the craziest lies leaders can concoct and get away with…
As much mystical generational fantasy as veiled allegory, Temperance will open your eyes on so many levels. As events spiral beyond all control the astounding outcome, whilst utterly inevitable, will also be a complete surprise – and just wait until you discover the identity of the eponymous narrator…
Mythical, mystical, metaphorical, lyrical, even poetic, here is a modern, timeless tuned-in epic blending Shakespearean passions with soft Orwellian terrors. King Lear and 1984 are grandparents to this subtly striking tale of freedom and honour – personal and communal – foolishly but willingly surrendered to a comfortable, expedient slavery. Combining trenchant and timeless social commentary with spiritually uplifting observation, illustrated in the softest pencil tones – reminiscent of English WWII cartoons (particularly Pont and Bateman, but also the animations of Halas & Batchelor) – this is joy to read, a delight to view and a privilege to own.
© 2010 Cathy Malkasian. All right reserved. This edition © 2010 Fantagraphics Books, Inc.