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Sir Gawain graphic novel by John Reppion and Mark Penman

Michael Smith

Updated: Jan 27

Sir Gawain on his icy journey as depicted by John Reppion and Mark Penman.
Published in 2022, John Reppion and Mark Penman's edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a masterpiece of evocation.

First published in 2021 and followed by a second edition in 2022, this graphic novel of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is well worth the read. Beautifully illustrated with the comic book art of Mark Penman and tightly written by John Reppion, this is an excellent addition to anyone's collection of this most haunting of Middle English romances.


The illustrative power of the Sir Gawain graphic novel


The beheading of the Green Knight at Camelot
The dynamics of comic art bring new life to an old story

There are many interpretations of the romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight but the illustrative dominance of this telling brings the story to a whole new audience.


Here, the poetry of the original takes a back seat as the co-authors bring out the vitality and multi-layered meaning of the text using image, graphics and tightly-focused text to drive the narrative onwards.


Of particular note is the way in which the content is laid out in three core colours: black (text, illustrative form and for the darker side of characters such as Morgan le Fay); red (for Gawain and for blood); and green (for nature and for Gawain's nemesis). The result is a dramatic morphing of different themes as the narrative develops.


Take for example Gawain's descent into the valley of the Green Chapel in Fitt 4 of the poem. In one illustration we are taken from the top of the cliffs down to the valley floor as slowly, subtly, Gawain's red motif is turned to green. The horror of the Green Knight is slowly absorbing our hero as he must face the Green Knight with his great 'Danish Axe'.

Sir Gawain descends into the valley to meet with the Green Knight
The descent towards the Green Chapel - notice how Gawain's colour changes.

The use of comic book imagery also helps to shape our perception of the characters in relation to their feelings. A particularly dramatic image is where, at the beginning of Fitt 4, Gawain must leave Hautdesert for the last time as he ventures to the Green Chapel.


As the poet tells us, it's New Year, it snowing bitterly outside ("snitering full snart") and Gawain doesn't want to wake up. But yet he must and, in this image of him leaving the castle we seem him rendered as small in comparison to the safety of the castle he has left; the huge drawbridge in front of him, draws his character out towards us - and the unknown...


Sir Gawain leaving Hautdesert from the Sir Gawain graphic novel by Reppion and Penman
Gawain leaves Hautdesert - notice the colour of his guide and the darkness of the two ladies.

And there is more. In the ensuing stanzas of the poem we are introduced to a surly and miserable guide who tries to persuade Gawain to escape his fate - in the image by the gate we see him depicted in green. Yes, even the guide is tainted by the machinations of the Green Knight.


The two women also - the lady and Morgan le Fay - are shown as black, darkened figures of menace; the lady herself is also tinged with green. The image reminds us fully that here Gawain is to be tested - the white 'purity' of his chivalry and the red chivalric motifs also indicative of the blood to be shed at the Green Chapel.


Evocative text


As I have discussed elsewhere, one of the significant challenges for anyone creating a modern version of an historic text is the issue of 'equivalence'.


The challenges of translating Gawain involve its complex metrical structure, exquisite alliteration, its dialect and of course its multi-layered mystery and meaning. Recreating meaning and intention is critical to success.


Because this is a graphic novel, the requirement lies less in the poetry of the source and more in the meaning. The intention of the work is therefore more significant than the poetry.


This means that the text itself does not need to be rigorous in its translation. Instead, in this telling, we are given a substantially abridged, yet skillfully redacted, text which is redolent more perhaps of Tolkien and Marie Borroff than, say, the northern rough and tumble of Simon Armitage's work with the poem.


The translation equates to what might be called 'courtly', intending to evoke the medieval in the mind of a modern audience. Hence, in Reppion's text we see characters speak with words and phrases such as "thou" or "by all which is holy".


While in Borroff, for example, this technique creates an atmosphere akin perhaps to Tennyson's Idylls of the King, here - because of the illustrations - the courtliness of the language is enable to blend more easily with the intention of the source to evoke the desired intensity of the original poem.


This is particularly important when placing the source in its correct setting, the fourteenth century. While the manuscript contains a few near-contemporary illustrations (described somewhat cruelly by Thorlac Turville-Petre as 'dreadful' and by Roger Sherman Lewis as 'infantile dawbs'), its descriptions are limited to the armour of Gawain, the appearance of the Green Knight and the wonders of Hautdesert.


What Reppion and Penman are able to do is to evoke more of the fourteenth century by the skillful merging of the text with illustrations accurately reflecting the period in which the poem is set: armour, costume, interiors etc. While some of these are more generically 'medieval', the core characterisation is distinct to the period.


What emerges in this text is that the illustration works to support perception: if a reader new to medieval texts cannot imagine the medieval, then graphic illustration makes the challenge simpler. The illustrations, in their graphic dynamism, serve an additional purpose too; they evoke the harshness of the original text while the text itself can evoke the medieval.


The bedroom scene between the lady and Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The graphic novel form helps shape a much darker narrative than is possible from the text alone. Notice the presence of Morgan in this image - she is not present in any of the bedroom scenes in the poem.

One particularly notable example of this is during the seduction of Gawain by the lady. The text, in the manner of Borroff or Tennyson, depicts a poetic awakening by Gawain: "till waking came with shock profound".


However, while readers of the poem recognise the erotic intensity of this scene, the illustration also chooses to include Morgan - a character not present here in the poem but clearly there as evocative of menace and as a portent to later revelations. The illustrations add a greater danger otherwise not present in the text.


Chivalry


A further power of illustration is that it can create imagery which rests in our mind to substantiate the personality of characters we are engaging with.


Image of Sir Gawain as he is ritually prepared for his journey in search of the Green Chapel
The ritual preparation of Sir Gawain. Notice Mary's face looking down on him; in the text, Mary's face looks upon him from the inner face of his shield.

One of the key themes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the notion of chivalry, including the poem's cryptic reference to the Order of the Garter at the end. A contemporary audience would have understood these references but a modern audience, perhaps one not in tune with the nuanced nature of the many medieval chivalric 'Orders', might not.


Yet one of the most striking images is that which depicts the ritual preparation of Gawain as he prepares for his journey in Fitt 2 of the poem. Here we see him, almost Christ-like, being prepared for a journey he believes will be his last.


The text tells us in abridged fashion about the meaning of Gawain's star on his shield but what stays with us is the image rendered by the illustration. He is not only a knight but a knight who is both devout and loyal to his order.


Of particular note in this illustration is Mother Mary herself. In the text her face is depicted on the inner face of Gawain's shield, indicative of the 14th Century cult of Mary and a face on whom he can call when in distress. Instead, here we are shown Mary looking down upon the knight while he himself appears in terror at what is to come.


In a conventional reading of the poem, a modern reader might find these descriptions almost irrelevant but illustration renders them central to our perception of Gawain. At the same time, we are also reminded of how this almost religious representation of the knight is at odds with a character also known for his 'luf-talking'. Gawain, like us all, is a compromised individual.


A fabulous production


Sir Gawain faces the axe of the Green Knight in the graphic novel of the poem by John Reppion and Mark Penman
No words need be added! Gawain prepares for the blow of the Green Knight's mighty axe!

In producing this wonderful Sir Gawain graphic novel, John Reppion and Mark Penman are to be commended on producing not only an accessible rendition of the text but also a version which brings its stark power right to the fore.


Drawing on a colour palette which brings together all the underlying themes while also dramatically shaping the action with the powerful work of the graphic illustrator, their book brings out the vibrancy and dynamism of the original poem with enormous vigour.


In undertaking their task, Reppion and Penman have shown that a translation of this epic northern romance need not necessarily rely on alliteration or dialect alone to evoke its power within.


Instead, through the accessibility of illustration combined with the pithiness of considerable abridgement, they have shown that even the most complex and multi-layered of medieval romances can be thoroughly evoked to create a text that will last long in the memory of all who come across it.


The Gawain-poet could not have asked for more.


 

Book jacket for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by John Reppion and Mark Penman.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by John Reppion and Mark Penman and with a foreword by Alan Moore was published by Reppion Penman in 2021.


John Reppion is a UK-based author, essayist and comic writer whose other comic book adaptations include works by M. R. James, Bram Stoker, H. P. Lovecraft and Lewis Carroll.


Mark Penman is a UK-based comic book artist, comic art lecturer, and illustrator. His works include self-published comics, anthology contributions, workshops, and commission illustrations for publication.


Alan Moore is regarded by his peers as one of the best comic book writers in the English language.





 

About the reviewer, Michael Smith


Three translations of Middle English alliterative romances by Michael Smith

Michael Smith is a British translator and illustrator of medieval literature; he is also an accomplished printmaker, whose work is in private collections worldwide.


His books, including a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Alliterative Morte Arthure, are available through all the usual outlets. His translation of The Romance of William and the Werewolf published on 19th December, 2024. All Michael's books feature his linocut prints as their illustrations.


For more details of Michael's books and how to purchase signed copies, click here.


 


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