The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson and Jo Rioux

First, a word from the publisher: “First Second has acquired The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson and Jo Rioux, a YA graphic novel that tells of two royal sisters with fairy blood in their veins, who must fight the dark magic that threatens to destroy the mythical city of Ys. Publication is scheduled for 2020.“

I was able to rent this work from my local library (as an eBook). The work is a retelling of what the author describes as, “an ancient Breton folktale.” While I’m not especially familiar with the original work, my interest was piqued by the cover and the promise of a good mythological yarn. I’ve now finished the work and I have some thoughts. Is this work worth your time? Read on to find out.

What Worked For Me:

The artwork had an ethereal quality to it, and was evocative of the Book of Kells.
The work is a modern(ish) take on a fable of old, which I found fascinating
The work “cites its sources,” and offers a few different versions of the tale of Ys for readers to check out if they desire

What I Struggled With:

I was quite surprised that the King of Ys, Gradlon, faced virtually no consequences for his actions throughout the story. This included killing the Wizard Duke of Wened, which the story only questions in passing. In my mind, this could have made for an interesting recontextualization of the work. Most gallingly, he feeds his daughter (Dahut) to a sea monster at the story’s climax. I have no idea why the king’s surviving daughter, Rozenn, would forgive him. A giant rift had obviously formed between them over the course of the story, so I was shocked when they didn’t at least talk about it.
Along the lines of the previous point, the ending of the story felt rushed. The story still had an ending that was reasonably satisfying, but when I had 5% or so left to go in the work I couldn’t help but wonder whether this was a self-contained work.
I found the motivations of the entity that gave Dohut her powers to be inconsistent. It vacillated between “reclaiming what it is owed,” and, “drowning Ys in its sin.” I know that “ineffable magical beings that dole out power at a cost,” are a well-trodden trope in ancient stories, but I couldn’t help but want a little more insight into what the entity hoped to gain either by destroying the city or allowing it to exist in the first place. I guess claiming the lives of the inhabitants of Ys is something, but that’s only an assumption on my part.

Conclusion:

I had fun with this one. A part of me wishes the author had done more to deconstruct and recontextualize the story. The story struggles a bit with characterization and character motivation for this reason; my guess is that The Daughters of Ys hews closely to the original work. With that being said, the art is gorgeous and the story is a fun romp. It isn’t quite what I wanted / expected, but I do my best to judge a work on its own merits / what it purports to be, not what I want it to be. With that said, if you enjoy folklore, gorgeous sequential art, or tales of swords and sorcery, this may be the book for you.

Check it out here.