Review: Two Brothers

Share

Two Brother CoverThe relationship between siblings can a thing of harmonious cohesion  or a roller coaster of emotional tension and love. Most of us with a sibling can attest that no matter what the other unworthy sibling has done, the love is unconditional. For a few, this relationship can be anything but.

Two Brothers is a graphic novel written by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. Gabrial Ba was a familiar name thanks to his illustrated works on Umbrella Company,written by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance). Together they have also worked on the comic series, Daytripper.  With that comic in mind, I braced myself for a style that was different and emotionally deep. Two Brother exceeded that expectation.

Two Brothers is a graphic novel that witnesses the destruction and turmoil between  twin brothers. Their actions ripple to those around them causing deep levels of heartache and sadness  to those around them. To make it even more profound, all the damage these two have has origins known only to the two of them.

The graphic novel is based off Dois Irmãos by Milton Hatoum, a Brazilian writer. As far as I can tell, the novel has not been translated into English. The novel focuses upon a Lebanese/Brazilian pair of twins: Yaqub and Omar. Rifts between the twins began to form when both were young resulting in their separation. One stayed home,while the other went to school. Five years later, the brothers are reunited and things do not get better. Interspersed between the drama is the history between the parents that further shows how much damage these twins did. All of the love and passion and hope were funneled away as the twins quarreled.

During all the turmoil, the graphic novel still has it’s own beautiful moments. The cartoonish yet elegant style captures moments of wonder and beauty. Even though the art is no way realistic, it conveys complicated emotions across the panel. Each page contains layers of passion and depth yet it is all still just a glimpse into this story. So much pain can be reflected across the pages that it can make you pause and just wince from it all.

Two Brothers is a work of sad beauty and loneliness. I would not be surprised if this were nominated for an Eisner award. It is indeed a work to be read and appreciated for it’s uniqueness.

The trade paperback will be available in October 2015 at your local comic book retailer

Share

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.