Author: Ant Sang. Publisher: Harper Collins (3/5)
Shaolin Burning is a graphic novel by the designer of bro’ Town, yet in it Ant Sang has chosen to steer clear of the New Zealand humour typical of this earlier work. Instead he explores kung fu mythology and Chinese legends. Background knowledge on these is non-essential and some handy notes in the back of the book provide the reader with helpful explanations and interesting facts about China’s history. The text is described as “a fusion of punked-up street culture and Chinese tradition” which is indeed portrayed in a way that makes it more exciting than the ordinary, history based graphic novel.
The plot follows the lives of a revenge-seeking “Monk Who Doubts” and Deadly Plum Blossom, an unwanted baby who was miraculously saved at birth by a Shaolin nun. Deadly Plum Blossom is now grown up and is seeking out the toughest fighters around in order to prove her skills as a fighter of her own unique form of martial arts. The “Monk Who Doubts” also fights, but not to prove himself; he wants revenge.
The drawings often have large amounts of detail and link to each other well with minimal plotline confusion and with helpful chapter headings. This novel is fast moving and easy to get through but can become confusing when it changes between storylines, although it all intertwines at the end for a moving finale. The narrative tends to switch between an abundance of speech and then a fast moving battle scene, usually with a lot of blood and multiple violent deaths.
This graphic novel is perfect for anyone who is interested in Chinese mythology or something out of the ordinary.
Shaolin Burning
