The story of a teenage boy who wakes up on a beach with no memory. He's taken on as part of the crew of a ship when he's discovered by its captain. There he travels from Asia back to England. Along the way he picks up all of the duties on the ship as if he's done them before. When he returns to Plymouth, he's taken in by three sisters who are trying to run an inn after their father was accused of treason and disappeared. He also meets a madame that he reads poetry to every day. It's a good story if a little long at 300 pages. Like a lot of European comics there is plenty of nudity and adult situations. It's all illustrated in gorgeous, highly detailed, black and white pencils. Good stuff.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Series: The Forbidden Harbour, Part 1
★★★☆☆
156 Pages

Let's start with the simple stuff:

Would I read it again?: Of course!
Genre: Comic, Graphic Novel, Historical, Romance
Content Warning: 18+ only, due to sexual situations


Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty:

I'm a little surprised by the quality of the illustrations. While very indepth drawings, they're done in pencil and look as though they've been scanned, so they've lost a lot of the detail. And they're in black and white, which wasn't what I'd expected. I thought the illustration on the cover was what I would find on the inside, but that hasn't proven to be the case, and it feels like I'm reading some old classic illustrated novel, instead.

Considering some of the detail of the illustrations that can be clearly seen – e.g. the nudity – this is definitely an 18+ comic book. But I do have to wonder over the historical accuracy of some of it. Such as claiming women have their periods, a term not used until 1822, while the story claims to take place in 1807.

While I enjoyed the overall story, which was part adventure, part life lesson and self-discovery, I wasn't keen on how heavily it borrowed from other sailing stories, such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – one of my all time favourite poems – to tell the story. I felt like there was more poetry than storytelling at times, especially since there were page-long passages of poetry breaking apart the two parts of the story.

I like Abel's character, how he worked his way from amnesia to the truth, and the originality of the idea that he and Rebecca are somehow reborn. I find the idea of the Forbidden Harbour intriguing, but in the end, it was too abrupt an ending, we found out very little about the Forbidden Harbour, and I feel like I've only read half a story. I presume that only those reborn can see the Forbidden Harbour, which what is it, why does it exist, what does it mean? Is it a symbol of the Hell or Heaven they escaped, a symbol of their second life, or is it somewhere they go once their final task is complete?

In the end, I'm left with so many questions and the story feels like it's barely started. With a very sudden ending and the fact that the illustrations are hard on the eyes, I had to lower the rating.

A mix of graphic novel and poetry. It took me a while to understand what the story was, it did get more interesting near the end but ended on a cliffhanger which I wasn't expecting. I would like to know what happens but not enough to read more of this.

An Elegant, Shifty Tale

Abel, a young amnesiac castaway, is rescued and experiences a ripping sea adventure on the way home to England. So far, so good. Upon his return he glimpses a distant shrouded harbour that reveals itself only to a select few. Hints of the ineffable and the supernatural? Nice. Turns out that Abel was rescued by a ship whose Captain had earlier turned traitor, and suffered disgrace before disappearing entirely. Oddly, Abel ends up being taken in by the three daughters of that same disgraced Captain, and lives with them in the Captain's now abandoned Inn. As he connects with these three lost and struggling souls he befriends the local brothel keeper, a sophisticated woman with many secrets of her own.

Abel reads to this woman every day, and eventually we get to Coleridge and the more obscure and mystical works of William Blake. At the same time we begin to wonder who this Abel person is, or was, and we note some subtle bits of Gothic foreshadowing that suggest the tale may get creepier and darker. NO SPOILERS, but it does. And it does so in an elegant, literate, restrained, and almost philosophical sort of way. This isn't a ghost or ghouly sort of tale, or a creepfest. It's about lost souls and second chances and living for the moment and other interesting, romantic notions.

One can't really say much more about the plot without risking ruining the fun. (And by the way, it ends on a cliffhanger, although you could fill in your own ending if you wanted to.) It is safe to say, though, that all of the main characters have distinctive and engaging voices, the dialogue is fresh and often witty, and the book is loaded with much more energy and light than one might suspect from a plot summary. All three of the Captain's daughters have distinct and nicely realized personalities, and the mysterious woman from the brothel has great romantic weight and substance and presence.

Many readers were disappointed by the art, and I get that. The art is just rough pencils, and looks like storyboards before lines and inking. At first this is a bit disorienting, because it does look so unfinished. As I read, though, I realized that the panels were more finished than they first appeared, and everything important to the story was clear. The main characters are very expressive, and it's always clear what's happening and why. This book is driven mostly by dialogue and narrative anyway, so the unfinished feel of the art eventually became unimportant.

The upshot for me was that this was much more interesting and complex a tale than I ever expected, and it ended up being a pleasantly surprising find.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
Perhaps it is the power of the ocean itself that lends itself to mysterious tales. The Forbidden Harbour make use of Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Marnier, but simply to call it a mystery gothic comic is misleading.
At first glance, the story seems simple enough – the adventures of a young shipwrecked boy as he is returned to civilization and is taken in by three sisters. But that isn’t quite correct. In many ways, the magical story is about faith, responsibility, and regret.
But honesty, the real winning part of this book is impossible to be discussed without spoilers, so here’s your last warning.
Radice gets huge points for her depiction of attempted rape because the man who tries to rape one of the sisters is a good man. His impetuous to force comes simply because of the sisters does not want to marry him because she doesn’t love him. Considering how hard it is for society to accept that nice guys don’t rape (i.e. Brock Turner), Radice use of it here is very powerful.
I can’t thank her enough for that.

A British sailor does away with a bundle of loot in far too close a fashion to the pirates he's supposed to be fighting, so sends his whole family into ignominy and poverty. The chap who replaces him in command, who wants the hand of one of the older guy's daughters, finds an English boy washed up on a distant shore with no memory – surely the three of them aren't going to be connected in some bizarrely dramatic scenario?

Well, of course they are – if you stick with it. You have to wade through a lot of artwork that might be good in and of itself, but doesn't convey the energy, drama and colour of the exotic plot. You also have to ignore a huge amount of "hey, look at me, I did my research" sections, where sea shanties and nautical terms are slathered across the page for little reason other than to show the author's done their homework. It's not bad in and of itself, but it certainly isn't good enough to make you happy with just this first half – given the chance to read this alongside volume 2 it will be a decent way to pass the time in an old-fashioned manner; this alone doesn't quite cut it.

A fun graphic novel. With an interesting art style and a cool storyline.

Very interesting story which is let down by the artwork. The artwork is pencil and I think it would have been easier to read with colour, or using bolder black and white. It felt a bit unfinished.

The characterisation is rich and the story has quite a few twists and turns especially as the story progresses. It is eerie in places which adds to the haunting feel of the story. I thought it was a bit too wordy in places. I like graphic novels which tell a story through the artwork but this story needed more text because if its complexity.

In any case this is just part one of the story and it ended on a cliff hanger. Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

'The Forbidden Harbour V1' by Teresa Radice with illustrations by Stefano Turconi is a really intriguing story, but I felt really let down by the art style.

A young castaway with amnesia named Abel is found and rescued by a Royal Navy ship. He is given jobs on board the ship and seems to have unusual knowledge of ships and sailing, even though his hands are soft. His appearance coincided with the disappearance and treachery of the ship's former captain. When the ship returns home, he finds himself living in the inn owned by the former captain and his three daughters. Because he can read, he makes friends with the owner of the local brothel, and he spends days reading to her. Eventually, she tells him that they share a secret which may help him unlock his past.

The story is very good. It's literate and interesting. It spins off into an interesting direction at one point.

But, the art style has an unfinished quality to it. The style is roughed in storyboards. It looks like it's the pencilled illustrations before ink and color are applied, and this book deserves so much more than that. Black and white inks would have been preferable to what is presented. I'm giving this a 5 for story, but a one for art, so an overall 3.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.