Maithili and the Minotaur: Web of Woe

MY THOUGHTS

Maithili and the Minotaur: Web of Woe is the first book in a brand new graphic novel series, which is set in a fantasy land filled with monsters, evil human beings, and creatures that we can probably only imagine in our wildest dreams. Written by CG Salamander and illustrated by Rajiv Eipe, this series will fit right into the genre that houses books like Asterix and Obelisk, Tintin, and Hilda.

Maithili and Minotaur are friends from school in a new land where Maithili is an outcast. She has been thrown out of the land of humans and now lives with her father in this strange land populated by minotaurs, six-tailed cats (aptly called Aaruvaal!), school ghouls, and an Arachnid headmistress. She makes new friends but quickly realises she is not liked by all. The headmistress wants her out, but her teacher, Mr Puu (short for Mr Poochandi), has her back. A strange sequence of events causes her to stumble on an ancient ritual performed by cowled creeps. Now they are after her and have enlisted the help of the headmistress! Will Maithili escape her web of woe?

The first book in a series, Web of Woe, expertly spins a tale that leaves enough open ends to keep the reader wanting more. Packed with puns and Tamil cinema references — from character names like Van Driver Hellsing and Aaruvaal to Madam Rakkamma’s Jallikattu — this book will keep you smiling secretly to yourself as if you are in on a special secret, every time you turn the page. The story is fast-paced and keeps the reader invested in it enough to keep turning the pages. A tale about a girl in a strange land, surrounded by evil beings, strangely seems verisimilar and countless parallels can be drawn to our world. This is not a book you read over a period of time. This is a book you finish in one sitting and keep going back to discover something you may have missed out on.

The illustrator, Rajiv Eipe, has managed to convince you of this strange new world that mimics the human world with schools and teachers and desks and canteens, but is something beyond our wildest dreams. Maithili, a human, seems strangely at home walking the school halls with minotaurs, zombies, snakeheads, and giant birds! I would love to know whether Aaruvaal was first drawn and then named or named and then drawn! This book has that completely in sync quality where story and illustrations go so well together that it could have only been created by two extremely close friends who finish each other’s sentences or two proficient craftspeople we haven’t given enough credit to yet!

What is truly fascinating about the series is what lies ahead. The book is aimed at children 10 and above, but I can see multiple fights erupting in my home for me to read it before my kids do! This book is perfectly positioned in a space that is currently wanting for good content.

Growing up, comics and graphic novels were actively discouraged by my parents because they thought they were mindless reading. It has come to my notice, while I was recommending this book, that the practice continues amongst today’s parents as well. Trust me when I say this, I haven’t come across a book so gripping and so entirely fascinating in a very long time. This is a book that has layers to it — the story with its many subplots, the characters the author (and illustrator!) has developed, the amazing illustrations that bring alive these crazy characters — that warrant multiple readings of the book to fully understand it. Add to the fact that this probably is the first of its genre in India!

This book is set to do great things and become a part of the zeitgeist. Don’t miss out on the fun, grab your copy now!