Elric: The Ruby Throne review - Surpassing Moorcock's fantasy classic

Michael Moorcock has always seemed to us to be an unsung hero of the science fiction and fantasy world, as well as British literature in general. His books seem to grace the shelves of every charity shop, but his name is not a household one like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke or JRR Tolkien.

Moorcock's books have run the range between inspired and decidedly pulpy, but they have always demonstrated a fantastic imagination and memorable characters. His best known creation - and subject of a variety of comics over the years - is Elric, the albino sorcerer-king of a corrupt and crumbling empire, an adventurer whose physical weakness can only be overcome by feeding lives to the original soul-devouring rune sword, Stormbringer. Elric was conceived as an anti-hero antidote to the 'merry old England' fantasy of Tolkien.

Now Elric is back in comics form, with Titan Comics' translation of the first volume in this new series from French creators Julien Blondel, Didier Poli, Robin Recht and Jean Bastide. The Ruby Throne introduces us to Elric and the kingdom of Melniboné, along with his cousin/lover Cymoril and her scheming brother Yrkoon.

In the capital city of Immryr we find the court of Elric, a bored and dissatisfied misfit who feels out of place among the brutal customs of his people. Yrkoon taunts his emperor, driving him into war against the upstart Young Kingdoms in a bid to gain the throne.

Certain details have been altered from the original stories (although it's been a long time since we read them so don't ask us exactly which), but this will still be very much familiar to former readers. Elric, Cymoril, Yrkoon and the loyal warrior Dyvim Tvar are exactly what we remember. What is sometimes lacking - as with some of Moorcock's older works - is a depth of personality. For instance, although the design notes indicate that the creators wanted to move away from a pinup look for Cymoril, she never gets far beyond the roles of lover-of-the-hero and damsel in distress.

In fairness, there is plenty of story left for these characters to grow into, and the volume itself is over frustratingly quickly. Frustrating because, despite our comment about the characterisation, this is an excellent adaptation of Moorcock's source material.

Poli, Recht and Bastide's artwork brings Elric to life as never before. The visual storytelling captures the decadence and cruelty of Melniboné to an extent that Moorcock himself never quite reached. The character and location designs are graceful and absorbing and manage to chime with our imagination at the same time as exceeding it, and Moorcock's own introduction to the book makes it clear that he would agree with this assessment.

The creators also succeed in avoiding the unnecessarily exploitative in their depictions of nudity, sex and violence. Melniboné is a terrifying place, but its brutalities are for the most part shown with a suitable amount of grace and taste. And when the young lovers come together, it is an unusually touching and egalitarian scene (in spite of the background bloodletting).

This is an adaptation that we would wholeheartedly recommend to Elric fans, and to us - at least - it looks likely to stand as the definitive adaptation of the classic fantasy. It is frustrating that this feels like only a very short introduction, with no sign of Stormbringer and only a brief glimpse of one other very significant cast member, but it is the frustration of anticipation rather than an adaptation gone badly.

This first Elric volume is an engaging read and visually stunning, if the storytelling occasionally falls flat. It would serve as a good primer for anyone interested in stepping into Moorcock's fantastic world, and as an absorbing return for readers who have enjoyed his work before.

Elric Volume One: The Ruby Throne is out now from Titan Comics.

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Hugh Armitage

Hugh Armitage is Movies Editor at Digital Spy.