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A Farewell to Kings The Graphic Novel Book Review by John Patuto September 2019 |
The making of “A Farewell to Kings” comes to life in a new graphic novel.
Throughout their decades-long history, Rush have had numerous “turning point” periods that helped to shape their musical direction and creativity. From their sophomore release of Fly By Night with their new drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, to the recording of Grace Under Pressure; the first album without Terry Brown as their producer, to the band’s return after a lengthy hiatus with Vapor Trails - each of these, and many more, are notable threads in the tapestry of Rush’s history. Arguably, however, one of the most pivotal points in the band’s career came in the late 1970’s.
Rush had just gone from the lowest lows, with the poorly received release of Caress of Steel, to the highest highs with their breakthrough concept album 2112 followed up by their Platinum selling first live album All The World’s a Stage. The band’s next step, a new studio album, would either result in a continuation of their growing success story, or a step backwards that could result in a tumultuous future. Fortunately for Rush and fans alike, the former came to be with the creation of their fifth studio album - A Farewell to Kings.
Now, over four decades since that point in time, Fantoons, the creative team behind such releases as The Rush Coloring Book and Rush Toons, have produced a new graphic novel that revisits the time in Rush’s history when the band wrote and recorded A Farewell to Kings. The hard-bound, over-sized (12”x12”) graphic novel, aptly titled Rush: The Making of A Farewell to Kings - The Graphic Novel, is a gorgeously illustrated, cleverly written 144-page celebration of the creative process that went into the making of this stand-out album.
The graphic novel begins with a brief retrospective of Rush’s history or, as Neil Peart dubbed it, “Chapter One”, which ended with the release of the band’s aforementioned first live offering All The World’s a Stage. The novel then enters into the “Making of” section with a clever narrative that centers around a fictitious, collective interview with the members of Rush as they each, in turn, reminisce about their time in Wales at the Rockfield Studios where the album was largely written and recorded.
As David Calcano, primary author of the novel, indicates, the story was: “…inspired by true events…we worked extremely hard to capture each of the band member’s personalities to the best of our abilities…”. Both Alex Lifeson and Terry Brown, who also wrote the Foreword for the graphic novel, provided interviews and insight regarding the making of the album, while extensive research via old articles and books were also utilized. In the end, after some final notes from both Geddy and Neil were provided, the story was complete. In addition to centering around the actual making of the album, the novel also touches upon other areas impacting Rush at that time - such as the rigors of their on-going tours, recording studio videos of key songs from the album, and the shocking news (shocking, at least, to Rush manager Ray Danniels at the time) that the band finally had a charting single with the release of Closer to the Heart. There’s even a humorous and informative section that focuses on Hugh Syme and his creation of the iconic album cover.
The story effortlessly switches back and forth between the actual events during that time, and the interview with the band members who expand on the details. Yet as entertaining and informative as the storyline is, the graphic visuals of this novel really make it shine. The illustrators Juan Riera, Ittai Manero, and Lindsay Lee did an absolutely phenomenal job of capturing the raw energy of Rush and their music in the numerous panels throughout the book, while also effortlessly reflecting the emotions of each band member, both positive and negative, as they discussed their recollections of the creative process behind the album. In a graphic novel of this length and depth, it might be easy to substitute quality for volume, but that’s certainly not the case here. With over 140 pages of illustrations, each panel feels very much like an individual work of art. The layouts are thoughtful and detailed, while the coloring and shading are both vibrant and sublime.
The impressive construction of the book matches the quality of the artwork and story. The hardbound cover, which includes a gorgeous illustration, surrounds the over 140 pages of heavy-stock semi-gloss paper which truly brings the artwork to life.
The love that the Fantoons team have for Rush and this album is clearly evident. Unquestionably a labor of love, this is one book that every Rush fan should add to their collection. And if the end of the story is any indication, this will be but the first of a series of “…Making of…” graphic novels coming from Fantoons: “…The next chapter will once again take Geddy, Alex, and Neil back to Rockfield. The same studio that hosted this recording. Where almost everything worked to perfection. The story of Hemispheres will be the opposite. The hardest recording session of the band’s career. To be continued…”
If that follow-up book is only half as impressive as their first venture into the world of “Making Of…” graphic novels, then it too will be a stellar success.
Click HERE for more information on The Making of A Farewell to Kings: The Graphic Novel.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
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