About the Book
Mezolith is a duology of British graphic novels, written by Ben Haggarty and illustrated by Adam Brockbank. Book One was released in February 2016, Book Two in September of the same year.
Plot
The story takes place about 10,000 years ago, during the Mesolithic. It centres the Kansa tribe, who lives on the eastern shores of Stone Age Britain, and tells about their trials and tribulations as they try to survive through winters and summers.
The protagonist is Poika, a young boy on the verge of adulthood. He gets wounded during a hunt because he was trying to prove himself to the others. He nearly dies, only being saved through the intervention of Korppi Velho, a shaman woman, who was raised by ravens. He survives, though he will have a limp for the rest of his life.
He goes on to make his way through the struggles of adulthood, of survival, of hunts, of conflict, of rituals and love. These struggles are often interspersed with mythology – stories of strange creatures, monsters and gods alike. Either as he experiences them face to face or listens to the tales told by his elders.
Themes
Mezolith is a Coming-of-Age story that explores themes of identity and belonging as Poika tries to find his way in the world. He’s also forced to confront his destiny as his shamanistic abilities become more apparent. This leads to certain responsibilities being thrust upon him. For example, standing up to his elders when he knows they’re doing wrong and helping to keep a balance between their tribe and nature.
Between History and Fantasy
Mezolith plays with the border between reality and fiction. The story is placed in a real part of our history, an era recorded through cave paintings and archaeological findings. There are things we know for certain, and things we can only infer about this time through hypothesis.
This very real past is interspersed with mythology, stories we’ve carried through history to make sense of a world we didn’t yet understand. Stories that felt very near and real to the people living in this time. To them, spirits inhabited the world around, magic was real, be it benevolent or harmful.
Mezolith uses what we know of this past world and contrasts it with the world our ancestors believed in. It reflects on how we use stories to create meaning – to teach, to record, to entertain one another.
Sources
- Haggarty, Ben. Brockbank, Adam: Mezolith. Stone Age Dreams and Nightmares. Book 1. Los Angeles: BOOM! Studios 2016
- Haggarty, Ben. Brockbank, Adam: Mezolith. Stone Age Dreams and Nightmares. Book 2. Los Angeles: BOOM! Studios 2016
