Nearly perfect adaptations of Leiber's Classic Tales

books:

	• Fafhrd And The Gray Mouser Howard Chaykin, Mike Mignola Dark Horse, 2007 - 200 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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Nearly perfect adaptations of Leiber's Classic Tales

There are two undisputed godfathers of Swords & Sorcery fiction. One is Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan, King Kill, Bran Mak Morn, and Solomon Kane; and the other is Fritz Leiber who created the duo of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It was, in fact, Leiber himself who coined the term "Swords & Sorcery." The adventures of the huge red-haired northern barbarian Fafhrd and the slight, mercurial thief The Gray Mouser were written over a span of fifty years, beginning in 1939 in the pages of the fantasy pulp magazine Unknown. In all, Leiber wrote some forty stories about the pair.

This trade paperback from Dark Horse Comics collects the four-issue mini-series originally published by Marvel Comics' Epic line in the 1991. The stories are adapted by Howard Chaykin with art by Mike Mignola and the legendary Al Williamson. The pairs adventures generally take place in and around the Lankhmar, the most notorious city in Newhon. The first story, "Ill met In Lankhmar" is perhaps the most famous, winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It tells the story of the first meeting between Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser although this "origin" story was not written until 1970.

The pair are after the same quarry of riches and soon strike up a great friendship...over many tankards of ale. When both of their women are killed by dark sorcery, the two team to kill both the wizard and the thieves guild before vowing to never return to Lankhmar. After leaving the city, each will encounter a mysterious, patron wizard, who provide cryptic advice and send them off on dangerous missions, seemingly often for their own amusement.

Another excellent story is "Bazaar of the Bizarre", written in 1963. A cadre of off-world merchants has set-up shot in Lankhmar, dazzling their customers with fantastic wares but it is all illusion as it is merely junk they are selling. They bleed cities dry of all their gold before moving on and the Gray Mouser is caught in their trap. Other stories adapted include "The Howling Tower", "Lean Times in Lankhmar", "When the Sea King's Away", "The Price of Pain Ease", and "The Circle Curse."

Had I been choosing the stories to adapt, I would have picked a few different ones, as a a couple of these are not Leiber's best work. Chaykin has done a superb job in adapting the stories, capturing the clever and witty dialog and the superb chemistry between the two characters. The dark humor of these tales is as important as the action. As a Mignola fan I loved his art along with the assist from Williamson. Mignola has that quirky style which fits the tone and characters so well.

If you didn't read these in the first go round sixteen years ago, here's your chance again to read some of the grandest work in fantasy by a true master.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

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The work belongs in a graphic novel...

I first ran into Fritz Leiber when many of the S&S books talked about him and his work in the forward or introduction. They praised him, frankly, as one of the Fathers, if not the Grand Master, of fantasy. So I picked up the first book of the series. And was very disappointed.
I don't know why. It was gritty, full of action, had lots of wine and thievery. But most of it didn't even happen in the city of the title and the stories seemed to drag. On and on. They were neither short nor were they full length novels. I decided not to collect any more of his books.
Then I found this graphic novel and decided to make another go at enjoying this work. I figured, if the written text seems to be too slow, maybe a graphic novel, where much of the information was in a visible form, would allow the story to move faster. And I was right. Within a night I had read the book from front to back. The plot, the characters and the setting need to be brought to life via the brush and pen of the comic book artist to truly be enjoyed.
Still, the characters seem to talk too much. Silence in many of the panels would have worked just as well.

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Since their first appearance in 1939, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have ranked among the most beloved characters in fantasy. Their rollicking adventures in the fantastic land of Nehwon have influenced the work of some of the best in modern fantasy, including Michael Moorcock, Terry Pratchett and countless others.