Judge Bao Volume 1: Judge Bao and the Jade Phoenix - Hardcover

Marty, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1936393433 ISBN 13: 9781936393435

Publisher: Boom Entertainment, 2012

Synopsis

First published in France, Judge Bao is China's answer to Sherlock Holmes! To combat the scourge that goes along with great prosperity, Chinese Emperor Ren Zong gives broad magistrate powers to Judge Bao. But, his aversion to corruption and dedication to justice make him a popular hero, with many enemies. Accompanied by his bodyguard Zhan Zhao, his page Bao Xing, and his assistant and coroner Gongsun, he travels the length and breadth of the Middle Kingdom, crusading against corruption and all forms of injustice. In the first volume, Judge Bao and the Jade Phoenix, Bao finds himself in a small village where a mother mourns her son, languishing in prison, caught in a complicated love triangle and accused of a murder he says he did not commit. Will Judge Bao find the real murderer?

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Marty was born in 1963 in Bergerac, France. He studied at the University of Bordeaux where he divided his time between technical studies in the Fine Arts and teaching writing at the Faculty of Arts and Art History. But his love of cinema, his growing interest in audiovisual media and his meetings with young filmmakers from the region prompted him to leave graphic design for film. He has worked as a writer, director, and producer of short films; as an assistant director; and then as a director for French television. His exposure to China and its culture as well as his love of graphic novels gave rise in 2009 to Judge Bao. He is also involved in other publishing projects, such as La Balade de Yaga as artistic director, andL’Ombre de Shanghai as a co-writer.

From Booklist

As the first millennium shifted, the Chinese emperor granted a wandering judge vast judicial power to exact justice throughout the land. This judge, Bao Zheng, was so renowned for his commitment to justice that he entered Chinese folklore and became a recurring character in popular stories. This French import, the first of a series, brings Judge Bao and his agents up against a corrupt coterie of judges who mete out false justice and sentence the uncooperative to jail and worse in order to profit themselves. The story, a morality tale of corruption and murder, features an ancient order of assassins and one of the medium’s few courtroom climaxes and, while the characters are drawn in simple sweeps, the art is nothing short of stunning. Through intricate shading and precise inking, the locations are afforded real texture, bodies are given a density worthy of Richard Corben, and the character’s faces could hardly be more expressive if they were those of real actors. A tale of kung fu intrigue in comic form. --Jesse Karp

About this edition

• Publisher: Boom Entertainment
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1936393433
• ISBN 13: 9781936393435
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160